As she spoke, Stella exhaled scorching breath. The Dragon Sinner Sword had already completely fused into her body, pulsing with her heartbeat and blood.
A terrifying wave of heat swept across the arena, turning the entire grounds into a crimson lotus hell.
"..."
This utterly wrecked arena... Hei Nai crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his forearm with one finger. A dark aura seeped from the shadows around him, making White Night keep his distance.
"The warm-up should be about over."
Stella took a step forward, leaving behind... a massive claw mark like that of a Dragon Beast.
She was clearly still a beautiful young girl, yet in everyone's eyes, she was as terrifying as a giant dragon.
—Using one's body as a vessel to manifest the mythical Fantasy Species known as a dragon. This was the Blade-Cutting Skill: Dragon God Possession!
This really was... an outright cheat-level boost. As expected, being the world's darling daughter was no empty phrase.
A radiance of Magic Power rose from Bronya's body. It looked so much like One Blade Arrogance that the others nearly mistook it for the same thing. "That's right. Since it's come this far, it's about time to end this."
As she said that, Bronya unconsciously glanced toward the spectator stands.
Boom—
"Hey, where are you looking?"
With a thunderous crash, Stella shattered the lava-like ground and shot toward Bronya like a cannonball, her small fist crashing down viciously.
"Clang—!"
Heavy Rabbit manifested at that moment, an alloy shield rising up to firmly withstand the strike. When they looked again, Bronya had already vanished.
—Harmony of Light and Dust.
In an instant, Bronya appeared behind Stella. The Life Chronicle descended upon her as Thunderlight flashed. "This time, I'll be a little more serious."
A monstrous force completely at odds with her appearance erupted. The air exploded, and the entire arena instantly burst apart.
At the center of the battle, Stella crossed her arms and forcibly blocked Bronya's strike. "What incredible strength, Bronya."
"Still not as strong as Stella."
As they spoke, both sides exerted force in perfect unspoken coordination, using the recoil to pull apart.
"Dragon Sinner Sword!"
"Truth!"
Almost simultaneously, a golden-red greatsword and a dark-blue katana appeared in their hands.
Stella raised the Dragon Sinner Sword high. Terrifying flames coiled around it as extreme light and heat surged into the sky.
A sword of condensed light and heat, almost tangible, came slashing down. "Burn everything to ashes! Blazing Heaven Earth Dragon King Flame!"
Why was it a beam cannon...
Seeing that, Bronya gave up on advancing to clash head-on. After all, that was Magic Power hailed as "the greatest in the world"!
"Boom! Boom! Boom—"
The world-shaking roars were absolute violence!
Under that strike, the venue was blasted apart. The sword of light and heat extended farther into the distance... toward the harbor city! With one blow, the city was nearly split in two!
"Chairman!"
White Night maintained the magnetic field as he immediately called out to Hei Nai. But as a professional Magic Knight, even though he had retired, Hei Nai's instincts needed no reminder.
Almost immediately, Hei Nai used his Supernatural Ability to rescue the people.
"This is way too much."
Seeing that, Bronya shook her head and began moving as well.
In a flash, she appeared behind Stella. Her dark-blue katana flashed with Thunderlight as it slashed down fiercely. But... that alone was nowhere near enough.
A dragon's attributes were well-rounded. Its defenses naturally would not be lacking either.
That strike had barely managed to break through her defense.
Then, empowered by a dragon's powerful vitality, the wound on Stella's back fucking healed!
"Boom—!"
The sword of light and heat swept sideways, its blade cutting across more than half the venue. Everything was almost instantly ruined beyond recognition.
"How exaggerated..."
—Heavy Rabbit again!
At the critical moment, an alloy shield stood firm, protecting Bronya securely behind it.
"That should be enough." (White Night)
"...Yes, it should."
Heavy Rabbit's support was reassuring. Bronya even took the chance to inspect the venue. "It's not like we can't keep fighting, but if this goes on..."
"The Chairman will want to kill someone." White Night picked up the sentence, glancing at Hei Nai while he did so.
Umm... he'd probably reached his limit already. White Night had no idea what would happen if this continued. "Let's surrender. It's not like we care about winning the championship anyway."
"Bronya thinks so too."
With their exchange over, Bronya used Harmony of Light and Dust and appeared outside the arena in an instant.
She raised one hand, with Heavy Rabbit guarding her in front. "Stella is too strong. Bronya concedes this match."
"...Huh?"
On the other side, Stella had been about to continue her pursuit when she heard Bronya's declaration of surrender. The flames around her froze as well. "Bronya!"
"Bronya is serious."
Bronya shook her head. "In that state, Stella's vitality is extremely strong. Bronya can't think of a way to win, so she can only surrender."
—According to the original plan, as long as her opponent was strong enough, Bronya would surrender. After all, the so-called championship meant nothing to her.
And looking at the ruined arena now... it was enough. People would think Stella was simply too strong, rather than suspecting Bronya of throwing the match. It was time to withdraw after accomplishing her goal.
Thus, the first semifinal came to an end, with Stella securing her ticket to the finals.
Then, almost immediately, Bronya and White Night quietly slipped away—they had turned the place into ruins, and neither wanted to face Hei Nai.
Because the damage was too severe, the Seven Star Sword Martial Festival organizers issued an announcement. The competition had been postponed once again.
As the main culprit, Stella naturally received notice and was placed under the League's observation.
As for Bronya?
Umm... it seemed she received no notice. Though the damage she had caused in that match was not small, it had all remained within controllable limits. She had shown considerable restraint.
Besides, with Stella as the comparison, there was simply no comparison between the two!
"Since we have some time, let's go see Kiko." White Night habitually called out to Bronya.
Bronya nodded at that. After all, once the tournament was over, they would be preparing to depart. "Bring Xiao Ai along this time too. Consider it a family dinner in the Chivalry of a Failed Knight world."
Umm... would that blow up?
The two of them were rather worried about that, and even their movements stiffened slightly for a moment.
Without saying anything, they tacitly skipped over the matter. White Night changed the subject. "Come to think of it, a few people seem to have arrived too. Do we need to prepare anything?"
"That depends on whether they make a move." Sitting on the sofa, Bronya's eyes flashed with a hint of killing intent.
◆ Regarding This Exchange
In reality, they could communicate through their minds. But that would make everything completely silent, so it had to be written out somehow.
Verbal exchanges were also a way for them to slowly get used to things. Otherwise, if they only stared at each other without saying a word every time... even if they understood each other perfectly, it would look strange to others.
Of course, it was also easier for the author to write this way. In any case, just remember that the two of them were essentially the same person.
Kiko and Xiao Ai
Near Yakushi Hospital stood a small house... well, it was not actually that small. Wisps of cooking smoke rose from it.
"Xiao Ai, I can handle things here." White Night stir-fried the home-cooked dishes without even looking up.
"Exactly."
Bronya echoed White Night from nearby. "Xiao Ai came as a guest this time. How could we let a guest help with the work? White Night will handle this."
"Xiao Ai, go play some games for now. I'll be done here soon." After informing Bronya, he led Xiao Ai out of the kitchen.
In the living room, Bronya turned on the television, skillfully connected the game console, and pulled a pair of controllers from the drawer below. "Xiao Ai, how about playing some games first?"
"I'll give it a try."
Though she still preferred helping out, Xiao Ai accepted a controller under Bronya's enthusiastic invitation.
"Then let's begin."
For her first attempt, Bronya deliberately chose something simple. Xiao Ai had no friends, so she definitely had never tried these things before. Bronya had to consider her gaming experience.
And the facts proved... a genius was still a genius in every respect.
With Xiao Ai's reflexes, ordinary human games were easy for her to pick up. In only a short while, she had nearly caught up to Bronya's level.
"Looks like Xiao Ai is already mostly familiar with it. Let's switch to a fighting game next."
A fighting game...
On one hand, it really did sound novel. On the other... because Bronya liked it, Xiao Ai was willing to try it too. "Sure. Let's see who's better."
"Remember to come home for dinner, Kiko~"
At Yakushi Hospital, Kiko looked over the message she had received. A stunning smile appeared on her delicate, gentle face. "Big Sister knows. I'll come home early."
In an instant, she seemed filled with energy.
During her work afterward, Kiko remained as meticulous as ever, but quietly increased her pace.
"Hey, Miss Kiko, did something good happen?" A kindly older male patient asked with concern.
Kiko returned a gentle smile. "Yes. Xiao Bai came back to see his big sister today."
"White Night? Then Kiko should head home early today. But come to think of it, that kid already made it into the final four, right? I really couldn't tell back then."
"Xiao Bai is usually rather low-key." Though she said that, the pride in Kiko's eyes could not be hidden.
After carefully finishing up the hospital's affairs, Kiko gave a few instructions to the doctors on duty and hurried home with light steps.
Taking out the key she had only used a few times, Kiko opened the door to her home. Without even looking to see who was inside, she ran straight to White Night and acted spoiled. "Xiao Bai, did you miss your big sister..."
For a moment, Kiko's words caught in her throat. Sitting where she usually sat cross-legged was a beautiful silver-haired woman with hair falling over her shoulders—Edelweiss.
"So this is..."
As a mature adult, Kiko quickly composed herself and greeted her warmly. But when it came to how to address her... calling her Edelweiss felt a little too distant.
"Kiko can just call me Xiao Ai."
Edelweiss had thought of that as well. Just as it would feel strange for her to call Kiko "Big Sister," too.
So they could each use their own form of address. "This counts as our first meeting, right? I'm White Night's... White Night's..." Her voice gradually weakened.
A flush appeared on Edelweiss's delicate face. This kind of self-introduction, umm...
—Wasn't this basically like meeting the family?! Even someone as poised as her would feel embarrassed at a time like this.
Uh... Xiao Ai...
Of course, Kiko was not doing much better either. In her impression, Edelweiss had been powerful and dignified, but now... it felt rather out of character.
Before you continue