"All right, Kiko, Xiao Ai."
Bronya spoke up, breaking the mood. She pressed Kiko onto a seat by the shoulders and gave up her place. "Come play together. You'll have plenty of time to get along properly."
At the same time, Heavy Rabbit appeared at the kitchen door and perfectly caught the tray White Night handed over.
A tray of tea and pastries passed into Bronya's hands, then was presented by her to Kiko and Xiao Ai.
With Bronya smoothing things over, the only shared topic they had... was probably White Night. After spending some time together, the atmosphere between Kiko and Xiao Ai gradually became more harmonious.
"You know, Xiao Ai? When Xiao Bai first started learning to make desserts, I specifically asked him about it."
The moment the subject came up, Kiko sounded a little jealous. "He wasn't even learning for me! I'm his sister. Who could possibly be more important than me?"
"..."
Xiao Ai could not find the words.
By now, of course, they all knew who that person was. But precisely because of that, Xiao Ai found it difficult to say anything.
"Kiko!"
Beside them, Bronya raised her voice slightly as well, her pair of silvery-pink eyes fixed firmly on Kiko.
"All right, all right, your big sister won't say any more." Kiko waved her hand and began enjoying the desserts with Xiao Ai.
Still, Kiko being willing to complain about such things to Xiao Ai truly brought the two closer together.
"Kiko, Xiao Ai, dinner's ready."
The table was filled with dishes that looked, smelled, and tasted wonderful. White Night's standards were as dependable as ever.
And then...
They spent a rather warm meal together. At this point, Xiao Ai could be considered part of this family too.
"All right, Xiao Ai. Leave this to me."
In the kitchen, White Night took over the dishwashing as usual. It had been this way for years, and he was already used to it. "You should probably go take a bath."
"The bathroom at home is pretty big. Three people won't be a problem. Bronya is already waiting for you."
But this time, Xiao Ai refused no matter what he said, stubbornly choosing to stay behind and help White Night.
Meanwhile, in the bathroom...
Bronya rested against the edge of the bath with her arms folded, completely relaxed. Her ample chest was slightly pressed against the rim, accentuating its pale softness. "Xiao Ai won't be coming over for now."
"Come to think of it, Kiko, you don't mind?" Bronya tilted her head slightly, her long silver hair rippling through the water.
Beside Bronya, Kiko dipped a hand into the water and gently lifted a strand of silver hair. "Why would I?"
"As her sister, how could I make Xiao Bai suffer? Besides, Xiao Bai will take responsibility, won't he?"
After living together for fifteen years, Kiko had long understood White Night's personality clearly. "Even if something really goes wrong, at worst, your big sister will take a little loss and not ask for a title~"
As she spoke, Kiko leaned closer to Bronya, her slender, pale hand gently caressing Bronya's cheek.
"Don't joke like that, Kiko. White Night... no, I'll definitely handle it properly."
"Is that so? Then your big sister will be looking forward to it~" Kiko affectionately rubbed her face against Bronya's, a gentle smile appearing at the corner of her lips.
That night, Xiao Ai was assigned to share White Night's room, and her delicate pale neck could not help flushing red.
"All right, Xiao Ai. Sleep."
At night, White Night held Xiao Ai from behind, but that was all. He did not do anything else...
—True "love" was not merely shown in that respect. It was also found in everyday respect and considerate care.
"...Mm."
Sensing White Night's care for her, Xiao Ai softly answered. Her heart felt warm, filled with a sense of tenderness.
Gradually, Xiao Ai closed her eyes and fell asleep in White Night's embrace.
Sorry, It'll Only Hurt a Little
They worked overtime around the clock. Finally, around the third day, the competition venue was usable again!
On the day of the competition, fervent cheers still filled the air. The tragedy of that day did not diminish the audience's enthusiasm in the slightest.
—In fact, a large number of Blade Dancers had been urgently deployed specifically to protect the spectators.
"Ikki, it's our turn."
On the arena, White Night wiped his sword with his left hand as he walked toward Ikki with almost no guard up, looking entirely casual.
"Yeah. It is."
Ikki said nothing else. Beneath his seemingly calm exterior, Fighting Spirit surged and boiled. He manifested Yin Iron in his hand and took the lead in attacking White Night.
—Seventh Secret Sword: Lightning!
In an instant, Ikki pushed his speed to its limit, incorporating his understanding of Winged Sword into it.
This strike was soundless and traceless. Not a shred of strength was wasted, not a movement was unnecessary; everything was focused within the slash.
"Not bad. Looks like you put in the work."
White Night swung his blade and met the strike head-on. Amid the clash of metal, a physically violent shockwave erupted outward.
"You've practiced it for a long time, haven't you?"
As he spoke, White Night began exerting force through his wrist. The blade of Myriad Phenomena gradually pushed past Ikki's Yin Iron. "But if you want to surpass me here, you'll need to work even harder."
Clang—
A tremendous force suddenly erupted, knocking Yin Iron aside. White Night swiftly adjusted his stance and exerted force through his wrist once more... a flash of blade light vanished in an instant.
Ikki's right arm trembled slightly, and even the web between his thumb and forefinger had split open—he had blocked White Night's slash with the hilt of his sword.
Immediately afterward, Ikki tilted the hilt slightly, guiding White Night's attack to the side before seizing the chance to counterattack.
It was still a soundless slash. Clearly, he had completely integrated Winged Sword into his technique.
A sharp blade gleam tore through the air, ripping apart the atmosphere itself, yet it was still evaded.
"Not fast enough. Don't forget who taught you." White Night leaned back slightly, the blade brushing past his hair. Every movement exuded composure.
He did not even counterattack. Step by step, he retreated from the blade while delivering precise critiques.
"The angle's off."
"That slash isn't sharp enough."
"The force..."
Clang—!
A Tang Saber blocked the blade. White Night's gaze was fierce as he stared straight into Ikki's eyes. "This won't do, Ikki. The gap in our physiques is too great."
"You should use that move too. It only lasts one minute, but that's enough for us, isn't it?"
After saying that, White Night sent Ikki flying back with a single arm, then Magic Power blazed around his body. "Let's finish this quickly, Ikki. I don't want people saying this match was fixed."
One Blade Arrogance!
Ikki responded decisively. A terrifying radiance of Magic Power burst forth from his body.
With only one minute, Ikki did not dare waste a moment. He crushed the arena beneath his feet and charged at White Night like an arrow released from its bow.
With extraordinary control over his body, Ikki gathered all his strength at the tip of his blade, concentrating his greatest destructive power into a single point—First Secret Sword: Rhino Strike!
Ikki was not worried that this blow would miss. He understood clearly: since White Night had said that, it meant he absolutely would not retreat and would definitely face it head-on.
Sure enough, White Night took up an opening stance. Boundless Sword Qi began to rage, transforming into a roaming dragon that dove toward Ikki. "Pierce in All Directions!"
Boom—!!!
The earth-shaking collision shattered the newly repaired arena once again, and even the ground sank slightly.
Ikki's strength was still inferior to White Night's. With no other choice, he directed the impact into the ground, easing the burden on himself—Third Secret Sword: Circle!
A technique for shedding force...
Seeing this, a thought crossed White Night's mind: Should he compare Sitting Forgetfulness Heart Method with it?
But considering Ikki's burst state was limited, he abandoned the idea and instead unleashed an even fiercer slash, suppressing Ikki. "Not enough, Ikki. It's nowhere near enough!"
Clang, clang—
The clashes of metal rang out as slash after slash came without pause, leaving the other side no chance to counterattack.
Throughout it all, Ikki could only barely defend himself. Every step he retreated, the cracks across the arena spread further... More than half the force was being channeled into the ground.
But even so, Ikki's arm still trembled slightly. The gap was simply too vast!
At this rate, he was bound to lose! As Ikki struggled to block, he recalled the promises he had once made...
His vow before his father, Shizuku's blessing, then the expectations of Arisugawa, White Night... so many people. Finally, Stella appeared in his mind.
—Let's move forward together! To the pinnacle of the knight's path!
"Aaaah!!!"
Faintly, it seemed as if he heard the snap of chains. A surge of power erupted from Ikki, violently knocking White Night back. "Fourth Secret Sword: Mirage Wolf!"
A technique that created afterimages through changes in footwork. Combined with Winged Sword and Drawn Foot, it was even more formidable than before.
"They're only afterimages."
White Night did not care. The blade in his hand fell toward a particular direction with the natural precision of an antelope hanging from a horn...
Clang—!
Ikki used Seventh Secret Sword once again. But unfortunately, his godspeed sword was still blocked.
In less than ten seconds, the two staged a breathtaking high-speed exchange of offense and defense, drawing wave after wave of cheers. But in truth... Ikki was nearly at the end of his rope.
—The "Perfect Control" he relied on had no effect on White Night whatsoever. To control someone, one first had to understand them, but White Night hid himself too deeply.
Without the necessary information, that move was basically useless. And then his swordsmanship was being suppressed as well...
"Hey, Ikki, do you remember that match back then? The one where you gave everything to shatter Raikiri."
At that moment, White Night was in no hurry to attack. Instead, he twirled his blade into a Sword Flower from afar and calmly reminded him.
That match back then...
Ikki remembered it—the feeling of burning everything away. Though it had only been a single strike, someone with White Night's strength could have easily avoided it. But his instincts told him:
—White Night would never retreat!
Then come on.
Ikki's eyes turned crimson as he charged at White Night. His skin, tendons... tore apart bit by bit, blood staining his clothes red.
This strike would wager everything I had!
—Seventh Secret Sword: Lightning!
Though he had already spent more than ten seconds earlier, with Drawn Foot and Winged Sword supplementing it, this strike was not weak in the slightest.
"I've been waiting a long time."
White Night lowered his body slightly, then explosively drove off with his legs, shattering the arena beneath him.
Using the recoil, White Night shot forward like an arrow released from its bow, meeting Ikki's Seventh Secret Sword head-on...
Clang—
A sword flew high into the air—it was White Night's Myriad Phenomena! At the instant their attacks collided, White Night deliberately relaxed his force... That was right, he had done it on purpose!
Ikki seemed to sense something, but he had already given everything he had and could not stop his attack at all! And so...
—Yin Iron tore through White Night's chest. Blood sprayed everywhere, staining the arena scarlet.
Before you continue