In the stands, Shinguji Kuroko was rather concerned about White Night's false report of his ability. She confirmed it once more. "Then, who do you think will win?"
Was this a test? White Night crossed his arms over the railing and slowly uttered a single term: "One Blade Arrogance."
"...It seems what you said wasn't entirely made up. At least part of it was true."
"Is that so? Maybe I just did some research."
White Night returned a meaningful smile, then turned his gaze toward the training ground. "All right, Chairman. At a time like this, shouldn't we watch the match first...?"
"Mimicry Swordplay, huh? I'm quite curious about it. Kurogane seems to have quite a few secret sword techniques. I wonder if we'll get to see them?"
Hearing that, Shinguji Kuroko gave White Night a long look. Seeing the future? This really was... Kurogane Ikki's secrets were practically being laid bare.
On the training ground, the clash of swords continued. Surrounded by blazing flames, Kurogane Ikki defended tightly, blocking all of Stella's attacks.
"Honestly, Xiao Hei..."
Just then, a somewhat childish voice sounded beside White Night and Bronya—Yaksha Princess Nenene Saikyō!
Nenene Saikyō leaned against the railing, an oversized loose kimono draped over her tiny body and exposing her entire shoulders.
Combined with her youthful face and childish voice, she looked like a little loli who had no business acting like an adult.
"How could you not tell me about something like this?"
"Nene? You would've found out on your own anyway, wouldn't you?" Shinguji Kuroko knew who it was without even turning around.
"Exactly. But don't you think it's surprising? That genius knight, Stella Vermillion, she..."
The battle continued.
Kurogane Ikki struggled to defuse Stella's offensive, gradually grasping her moves through "Mimicry Swordplay." And next, it was time for his counterattack!
In Stella's eyes, Kurogane Ikki's movements seemed to gradually carry traces of her own? Even his swordsmanship was beginning to resemble hers.
"My swordsmanship... Why can you use that move?"
After another clash, Stella blocked Ikki's Yin Iron, uncertainty coloring her voice.
"When it comes down to it, once you thoroughly understand something, you can comprehend every move. That is my 'Mimicry Swordplay'!"
Blade after blade collided. Kurogane Ikki seized an opening, and Yin Iron successfully broke through Stella's defense. However... a thick layer of Magic Power covered her body, blocking the blade.
Seeing this, Kurogane Ikki swiftly retreated and opened the distance. Stella slowly rose to her feet as well...
"Winning this way really isn't honorable. I originally wanted to defeat you with swordsmanship, to make you understand that I'm not just someone with talent. But it seems... I'll have to use Magic Power."
"Is it coming?" (White Night)
On the field, Kurogane Ikki declared his conviction as a terrifying storm of Magic Power erupted from his body. "One Blade Arrogance!"
—With my weakest, I will defeat your strongest!
As expected, after using that move, his speed, strength, Magic Power... everything was supplemented across the board. Kurogane Ikki won the match with it.
The eruption of an F-Rank Knight was astonishing. But afterward, he collapsed powerlessly.
"Enough! The victor is Kurogane Ikki!"
As Shinguji Kuroko announced the result, the dust settled, and the training ground's stands immediately erupted into an uproar.
"How is that possible? Th-that was really Kurogane Ikki?"
"That Failed Knight actually..."
"Hey, is anyone here who was in his class last year?"
"You're kidding, right?"
"..."
Amid the clamor, medical staff rushed onto the training ground and quickly carried away the unconscious pair.
"My, this year's Representative Selection Tournament will be worth watching." Nenene Saikyō waved her fan and prepared to leave, but something caught her attention.
At her side, White Night extended his right index finger. A cluster of pure white Magic Power slowly burned at its tip. "One Blade Arrogance really is quite different from the genuine article."
One Blade Arrogance was practically a symbol of the Chivalry of a Failed Knight world. Its principle was practically laid out in the open, so White Night had naturally studied it.
◆ One Blade Arrogance
An ultimate skill that consumed all energy within one minute and could only be activated once a day. At its core lay "consumption," or rather, "burning."
Among infinite worlds, "burning" was an extremely common type of technique. And the pinnacle of burning-style techniques was naturally the Life-Burning Style of the Saint Seiya world—"Burn, my Cosmo!"
White Night naturally could not reach that level, but that did not stop him from borrowing its underlying principle to develop an imitation of One Blade Arrogance.
By burning Magic Power, he could unleash greater strength. The boost was not absurdly high, but it was at least controllable and caused almost no damage.
"My, my~ This is a bit similar to that move just now~" Nenene Saikyō appeared beside White Night almost instantly.
Unfortunately, a slender arm reached out and stopped her. Bronya's tone remained flat. "If Bronya remembers correctly, you should be Teacher Ning Yin?"
"Was that Drawn Foot just now?"
White Night also extinguished his Magic Power and looked over. "A step that borrows from the subconscious. It's certainly interesting."
"Eh? You noticed too?"
"Bioelectricity."
A streak of pure white Yang Lightning flashed across White Night's fingertip. Even without relying on that, his campaigns in the Qin Shi World had been enough to train him.
"I'm starting to take an interest in you~"
"According to Bronya's understanding, whenever Teacher Ning Yin refers to herself as 'I,' most of the time she does it deliberately to tease young men who don't know any better."
"Nene, what are you doing again?" By then, Shinguji Kuroko had finished dealing with the aftermath and walked over.
"Xiao Hei, where did you find these little monsters? Introduce me to them, okay~?"
Unfortunately, Kuroko ignored her and looked at White Night instead. "Looking at that expression, is there something you want to say to me?"
"Chairman, if there's a chance, I hope to have a one-on-one match with Kurogane Ikki."
At that moment, a Tang Saber gleamed coldly in White Night's hand... Myriad Phenomena manifested here. "A rare school of technique. I'm very interested in that guy."
"..."
A silence followed. Kuroko stared at White Night for a long time and could roughly tell that he was serious. "So you really mean it? I thought you would look down on F-Rank Knights like everyone else."
"Chairman, did you forget~?"
As he spoke, White Night closed one eye and lightly tapped his eyelid with his index finger. "These eyes of mine can see certain things. That wasn't a lie, you know~"
Thunderlight's Challenge
"So what did you see this time?"
"Just a possibility. It isn't very accurate."
"...All right. Later, I'll ask Kurogane Ikki what he wants. If he agrees, your match can probably be arranged."
"Sorry for the trouble, Chairman."
White Night and Shinguji Kuroko continued talking, leaving Bronya and Nenene Saikyō aside.
Emmm... Since that was the case, Nenene Saikyō did not bother with them and turned to Bronya beside her. "Hey, you're called Bronya, right?"
"Yes, Teacher Ning Yin."
"Let's chat~ Xiao Hei won't play with me, so let them talk among themselves while we talk." Ning Yin circled behind Bronya in almost an instant, but...
Bronya dodged her! Black Dark Lightning flickered at her pale fingertips. "Teacher Ning Yin, Drawn Foot is useless against Bronya."
"Why do you know that move too?" After her sneak attack failed again, Ning Yin could not help feeling a little annoyed. Yet paired with her childish appearance, it only made her seem cute.
It was obvious she was pretending, so Bronya ignored her and brought up another topic. "Speaking of which... 'Xiao Hei' should refer to the Chairman, right?"
"White Night is also called 'Xiao Bai,' you know~"
"Xiao Bai? Simple and clear enough."
"By the way, Teacher Ning Yin, your Supernatural Ability is gravity manipulation, right? Then theoretically, you should be able to create a gravity field. Could you give us private guidance?"
"...Bronya, do you really understand the significance of gravity training? Without using Magic Power, a moving human can endure at most around four times normal gravity."
"Once it exceeds that value, the body will suffer instantaneous widespread crushing damage!"
"Even while remaining still, the human body can only endure up to around nine times gravity. That is humanity's limit, a bottleneck imposed by the structure of living organisms."
"Gravity is no joke. If even the slightest mistake occurs during training, your body will be torn into pieces in an instant by this power from the world."
"Nene is right. Even so, do you still insist on doing this?" Shinguji Kuroko looked over as well.
"If you're thinking, 'We'll just try it, and at worst we'll get injured if we can't handle it,' then I suggest you give up."
"You'll die."
Nenene Saikyō added that final sentence. For an instant, a chilling aura erupted from her childlike body.
White Night and Bronya exchanged a glance. "Chairman, how do you think we usually train?"
Was it because of Yakushi Kiriko?
But White Night's next words dismissed that thought. "It should have spread in the outside world too, right?"
Bronya immediately continued, "The twins of Thunderlight—Dark Lightning Bronya and White Lightning White Night."
"Everyone should understand Thunderlight, but as for the twins..."
"It isn't merely that they are outwardly inseparable. White Night and Bronya are true twins."
"As long as one exists, the other will never truly die. So whenever we fight each other, it has always... been a bloodshed match!"
White Night said it casually, but his words carried a bloody stench. "Only by undergoing inhuman tempering can one forge the strongest."
"...Fine, let's leave this topic here for now. Once you submit a formal application through the student handbook, we can discuss it again."
Seeing that they had even revealed the secret of being "twins," Kuroko understood their determination and took a step back for the time being.
Still, it required careful consideration. As teachers, she and Ning Yin were responsible for every student's safety.
With that, the matter was temporarily settled. Shinguji Kuroko still had to visit the two who had been carried into the infirmary, so she left first.
"Then Bronya, Xiao Bai, I'll take my leave as well." Ning Yin opened the folding fan in her hand, half-covering her face as she withdrew.
"Time to go, Bronya."
Being too clingy would easily cost points. White Night called Bronya away. Since they were essentially one person, there was no need to say much; Bronya immediately understood.
"Is White Night planning to find Kurogane tomorrow?"
"Of course. The Regeneration Pod is quite useful in some respects. By tomorrow, he should be lively and kicking again~"
"So White Night is going to send him back in there?"
"How could I? I know my limits. Besides, the gears of fate have already begun to turn..."
Though he did not continue, Bronya could more or less understand—he naturally intended to get involved too.
After returning to the dormitory, Bronya took out her phone and made the call Yakushi Kiriko had told her to make earlier.
"Good afternoon, Sister Kiko."
"Bronya~"
In the video, Yakushi Kiriko wore a white lab coat over a black T-shirt that accentuated her impressive curves. Her emerald eyes held the particular gentleness of a doctor.
However... when facing White Night and Bronya alone, that gentle gaze underwent a subtle change. "I was caring for a patient just now, so I was delayed a little."
"It's all right, Sister Kiko. You're the best doctor, so of course your patients' conditions come first. Bronya understands."
"As expected, my Bronya is the best~"
Yakushi Kiriko leaned against her desk, her mature voice carrying a coquettish note. "All right, you contacted me so early today. Did something happen?"
Before you continue