In the academy's assembly hall:
White Night, Ikki, Bronya, Stella, and Toudo Touka took the stage one after another to receive their medals.
"By decision, Toudo Touka has been confirmed as the captain of Broken Blade Academy's delegation."
As she spoke, Shinguji Kuroko handed Toudo Touka the flag representing Broken Blade Academy.
In terms of strength, Toudo Touka might not have been the strongest. But for a captain, suitability mattered more. After all... they couldn't exactly let White Night take the position, could they?
A Demon capable of standing against Ning Yin... honestly, even now, Hei Nai still had no idea what he was after.
After the ceremony ended, Ikki, White Night, and the others gathered together and walked through the academy.
"Come to think of it, why isn't Arisugawa here?"
They had been in the assembly hall earlier, so Ikki had not been able to ask. Only now did he have the chance to ask Shizuku.
"He took the day off." (Shizuku)
"After all, because of him, Shizuku wasn't selected either. He's probably feeling pretty bad about it, right?"
White Night added from the side, "Still, this academy's lineup really is rather extravagant this time. Under those circumstances, I suppose it couldn't be helped."
"When there's time, we should talk to him more." Bronya nodded as well, agreeing with White Night.
But where was the subject of their conversation now?
"Hey, hey, hey, is this the Shadow Killer?"
A frivolous voice came from the student handbook.
Arisugawa remained connected. The familiar face no longer bore its usual jokes and teasing, looking cold and unfamiliar.
"What do you want, Jester?"
Those icy words were hard to imagine coming from Arisugawa's mouth.
"My, my, don't be so cold..."
Jester's mocking tone was infuriating to hear. "The target of the operation has been confirmed~ It's at the Broken Blade Academy where you're undercover. You'd better cooperate properly, Shadow Killer..."
"Oh, no, perhaps I should call you... Comrade 'Black Rose'? Right, Student Arisugawa~"
"..."
On the other end, Arisugawa remained silent. It was just... perhaps because Shizuku had failed to qualify? His emotions stirred slightly, and he unconsciously tightened his grip on the student handbook in his hand.
"Silent again?"
Jester was not surprised either. After all, Arisugawa—or rather, the Shadow Killer—had always been this sort of person. "Forget it. In any case, preparations for the Eve Festival are complete."
As he spoke, Jester's tone gradually took on a smile, faintly tinged with madness. "The actors are all in place. That's what everyone thinks, isn't it?"
"But they're all wrong. The true 'protagonist' hasn't appeared yet!"
"Next, we'll leap from beneath the stage onto it and beat those foolish audience members senseless. Then, we'll announce our great victory to the world..."
—"The protagonists of this Seven Star Sword Martial Festival will be us, Dawn Academy!"
At the other end of the communication, Arisugawa had already hung up. He had no interest in Jester's usual bouts of insanity.
Time passed into mid-July.
With the Representative Selection Tournament over, Broken Blade Academy's first semester also drew to a close.
After that came the summer vacation the students had been looking forward to.
During this time, most students returned to their hometowns, leaving the campus much emptier.
The Seven Star Sword Martial Festival would be held in mid-August. To prepare, the academy began a ten-day intensive training camp.
However, due to the Puppet Master incident, the location of this camp had been changed to Jumon Academy, where the two academies would train together. But White Night was nowhere to be seen.
"Young man, you're in quite a hurry~"
"Can't be helped. It wasn't easy to receive guidance from the God of Combat. I can't afford to slack off too much."
As he spoke, White Night slowly lowered his center of gravity, one hand leisurely brushing across the blade of Myriad Phenomena... A glow of Magic Power ignited, similar to Ikki's, but more stable.
"Oh my, this is..."
Nangong Torajiro slightly widened his eyes, though he remained composed overall, leaning on his cane like an ordinary old man. "Are young people these days all this serious?"
"Clang—!"
A wave of Sword Qi struck—Tenken Ryusho! An ultra-high-speed iaijutsu slash. Immediately afterward, Thunderlight gathered beneath his feet, erupting with an overwhelmingly powerful burst of propulsion.
Thunder Breathing: Thunderclap Flash! This was the only move from Demon Slayer that White Night could replicate. Most of the others were too vaguely described to practice based on the manga alone.
"Oh my~"
Even so, Nangong Torajiro looked relaxed. With a few steps and a slight turn of his body, he evaded it. "Young man, that combination of techniques is quite good..."
!!!
As he spoke, Nangong Torajiro suddenly leaped backward, instantly opening distance between himself and White Night.
"Pierce in All Directions!"
A flash of sword light appeared, followed by terrifying Sword Qi raging through the air. But that was not all. White Night lightly tapped the ground with his toes and flew forward with his sword...
—Hundred Paces Flying Sword!
It was an unparalleled speed. Even Nangong Torajiro received a small cut across his face. "How frightening. What incredibly sharp swordsmanship."
"Whew~"
On the other side, White Night let out a long breath. A few seconds? No, not even one second! Yet he had truly given it his all, to the point that even his exhaled breath resembled a sword gleam.
"But it's still not enough."
White Night turned to look at Nangong Torajiro. The tiny cut had nearly healed already. "Just this much is still far too lacking."
"Young man, your standards for yourself are truly high~ Just now, this old man... had already used his Supernatural Ability."
Even so, Nangong Torajiro had still been injured! That alone showed how fierce this sequence of sword techniques was. "Within the realm of humans, your swordsmanship has already reached its peak."
"But as you said, that is only within the 'realm of humans.'"
"..."
For a moment, their gazes met, and silence fell.
After a long while, White Night flicked the blade with his index finger, then lowered his center of gravity and assumed his stance once more. "God of Combat, how about experiencing my sword a little longer?"
"Young man, you certainly have plenty of energy." Nangong Torajiro moved his hands, and a dangerous aura gradually radiated from him.
After a somewhat serious sparring session, White Night leaned against a chunk of rubble behind him with his sword for support. "As expected of the God of Combat. White Night gained much from this exchange."
"Young man is already very impressive~"
At this moment, Nangong Torajiro walked to White Night's side and sat on the ground without concern. "You're pushing yourself so hard because you want to reach the realm of Demons, aren't you?"
"And you want to rely solely on your swordsmanship. If so, you may have come to the wrong person."
—You should be looking for Hiyoku instead!
"I know. I've been trying hard to find him too. But what can I do if I can't run into him?"
White Night's powerful adaptability quickly stopped his breathing from being ragged, and he gradually recovered. "So, God of Combat, what do you think I'm still lacking?"
"Young man, you've stumped this old man. Your swordsmanship has already developed very maturely. If I had to say..."
Academy Training Camp
"Boom—!"
On the dedicated training field, crimson flames and golden lightning intertwined, unleashing terrifying destructive force.
"That's the Crimson Lotus Princess? She's incredible, actually fighting Raikiri to a draw."
At the edge of the field, several people held cameras and eagerly recorded the scene. "Quick, quick, quick! Record it! You don't get to see simulated battles this intense very often."
Um...
Unlike the members of the news club, Jumon Academy's representative contestants were completely numb. "Hey, can any of you beat them?"
"Huh? Are you not awake yet? What kind of dream are you talking about? We'd be lucky not to get instantly defeated."
"Anyway, I can't."
"Can't beat them, absolutely can't beat them. Say, are they really students in the same year as us?"
They had originally felt quite good about themselves, even thinking they could achieve a ranking at the Seven Star Sword Martial Festival. But after watching these two spar... their mentality had completely collapsed!
Moreover, according to internal information from Broken Blade Academy, Stella and Toudo Touka had both once lost to Kurogane Ikki.
And Kurogane Shizuku, known as the Sea Witch, had been eliminated outright!
This had been decided according to strength... Damn! What kind of monsters were at Broken Blade Academy? Would there even be room for Jumon Academy in this year's Seven Star Sword Martial Festival?
"Playing games again?"
Yet one corner was completely out of place with the rest. Bronya sat with her pale thighs pressed together, hiding in the shade and working her Handheld Console, its electronic screen flashing wildly.
"This level of sparring is useless to Bronya, so Bronya won't participate."
Without even looking up, Bronya already knew who had arrived. "More importantly, Alice, what are you doing here?"
"I wasn't interested in the Seven Star Sword Martial Festival to begin with. Becoming a representative contestant was merely good luck."
"..."
Bronya said nothing... Did Alice think Bronya did not know? She was the Shadow Killer, someone who ranked even internationally. Her strength had to be at least A-rank, right?
But exposing her would be troublesome too. Some things were difficult to explain, so it was better to maintain things as they were. "Forget it..."
"What do you mean, forget it?"
Arisugawa waved a hand and naturally moved closer to Bronya. "All right, all right, what game is Bronya playing? Can I take a look too?"
"Just some very simple little games. There's nothing difficult about them." Bronya shifted slightly so Arisugawa could see the screen too.
Um...
Bronya probably had some misunderstanding about the word "simple." Looking at the wildly flashing electronic screen, Arisugawa could not speak. "Come to think of it, where did White Night go?"
"White Night went off for specialized training."
YOU WIN!
The electronic screen displayed the game's victory marker. Bronya skillfully switched games and continued operating the Handheld Console. "By the way, Alice, haven't the new batch of coaches been transferred over yet?"
"Yeah. After all, they can't find suitable candidates. If the people who come are too weak, they'll probably get beaten until they break down again."
Thinking of what had happened before, Arisugawa could not help curling her lips upward. That had been at the beginning...
Bronya had wanted to slack off, and the so-called training camp happened to involve practical sparring with coaches. Then... with effortless ease, she beat every single coach.
In the end, with her overwhelming strength, she earned the privilege of slacking off. Then, since they were already there, Ikki, Stella... and the others went up and fought several rounds too.
The result was total victory!
Several coaches had their mentalities shattered on the spot. No matter what, they refused to stay any longer and resigned overnight before fleeing.
That was why, without sparring partners, Stella and Toudo Touka could only train against each other, while no one bothered Bronya's slacking group either.
After quite a while, Bronya cleared several stages in succession, then stood up slightly to stretch. Her gaze swept around. "Alice, where did Ikki go?"
"Eh, isn't Ikki right over..."
But when Arisugawa looked over, the place where Ikki had been was already empty. "...Ah, if he isn't here, then I don't know either."
"...Forget it."
Before you continue