Now!
While Ikki was distracted, White Night suddenly struck. His left hand restrained Ikki's movements while his right elbow rose high. "Sorry, this will hurt a little."
What...
Before Ikki could react, his head suddenly took a fierce blow, and his consciousness nearly blacked out.
At that moment, an extremely subtle ripple of power swept through the area, drawing the attention of certain beings—it was the power of fate! Exclusive to the realm of Demons!
"White Night is badly hurt. He needs emergency treatment."
Bronya flashed onto the arena and made her diagnosis in mere moments before taking him away... Yes, she had simply taken him away!
Although Ikki was swaying unsteadily, he was still standing in the arena, making him the winner of this match.
Once the dust settled, Ikki finally could not hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground.
"This should do it, right?"
Elsewhere, after leaving everyone's sight, White Night landed on the ground as if nothing had happened.
As for his wounds?
With White Night's powerful vitality, they had already begun healing. That was why Bronya had hurriedly taken him away.
—White Night was practically a doctor himself and knew very well how to avoid serious injuries. Then there was Ikki...
He knew exactly which spots could easily induce memory loss, not to mention that he had specifically supplemented it with the power of fate. "As long as he forgets about Demons, then with Ikki's willpower..."
"He'll definitely be able to get past it." Bronya picked up where White Night left off.
White Night knew about Demons, yet he had still overcome it, so there were some things he did not understand:
—Once someone learned of Demons, if their will was not pure enough, the difficulty would rise by several levels! That was why Ikki's progress had stalled.
◆ Regarding the Demon Setting
Earlier, I saw many comments discussing it, so I specifically went back to fill in the setting.
It seemed that was indeed the case? After thinking it over, I decided to respect the original work. The content of this chapter counted as a patch from the author.
There would definitely be people who objected, but Ikki could overcome it anyway, so let's loosen the standards a little~
Alright, that was probably it.
Demon!
A holy, immaculate figure descended not far away.
Even though Xiao Ai was merely dressed casually, the incomparable pressure she gave off still forced back those who had been watching.
"Oh, it's Xiao Ai~"
White Night turned and waved at Xiao Ai. But mindful of his wounds, his movements were still rather small. "Don't worry, I'm fine. A little injury is nothing."
Stare—
"Alright, alright, I won't do it again. I'll be careful. I definitely won't make you worry again, Xiao Ai." Under that gaze, White Night still surrendered.
Xiao Ai said nothing. Her figure vanished from sight in an instant, leaving as if in a sulk.
"...Did I really go that overboard? If I dared do it, then I must have been confident about it."
"White Night, you should prepare some desserts and apologize to Xiao Ai. Some things cannot just be brushed aside like that."
"Mm... How about you go instead, Bronya? After all, Xiao Ai is still angry, isn't she?"
White Night folded his hands behind his head and glanced at Bronya as he made the suggestion.
"...Bronya understands."
Bronya nodded and agreed. They were all the same person anyway, so it made no difference who went. "White Night, handle things here for a bit. Bronya will be leaving first."
Without waiting for White Night to reply, Bronya turned and left. White Night, meanwhile, turned around and cast a deep gaze into the distance. "Seriously, do you all want to find something out that badly?"
"Then I'll grant your wish."
Boom—
A frigid killing intent erupted, mixed with the fate power of a Demon as it swept out wildly. White Night's voice was utterly cold. "Struggle as best you can."
In only a few moments, the intimidation of that aura caused a large number of hidden observers to lose consciousness.
"Heh, that's all there is to it."
With an indifferent smile, White Night slowly turned around, the expression on his face gradually returning to its usual flippancy.
The next day:
It was the final match.
Ikki had only taken a blow to the head. Such an injury would not affect the match afterward at all.
In the entrance tunnel, Ikki raised a hand and rubbed his head. "White Night really hit hard. This is the first time I've heard of someone getting beaten into partial amnesia."
If not for the match records, Ikki would not have known any of this. His memories had stopped at the selection tournament.
"Ikki."
After turning a corner, that familiar voice rang out again. Ikki tilted his head slightly. "So it's you again, White Night. You seem especially fond of corners like this?"
"Why don't you come up with an entrance for me, then?" White Night said lazily as he leaned against the wall.
"No need. I think this suits you just fine."
Ikki did not want to get involved in such things, so he waved his hand in refusal. "By the way, what did you come to tell me this time?" (Ikki vaguely felt that this was familiar.)
"Nothing much. I just wanted to check on your condition. It looks like you're fine now, so give it everything you have and win."
White Night patted Ikki on the shoulder, walked past him, then waved without looking back. "Don't give up, Ikki."
???
Several question marks practically appeared above Ikki's head. White Night's behavior was utterly baffling. "That was supposed to be encouragement, right? Forget it, no point thinking about it. Time to get ready."
As for Stella... Bronya had considered going to see her, but after thinking it over, she decided against it. It was a matter between the young couple, so there was no need to interfere.
Besides, in the original trajectory, had Ikki not broken through into a Demon under Stella's pressure?
Compared to that, the audience seats were far more significant.
A kindly old man stood in the southern section of the stands with a cane, smiling cheerfully—God of Combat Nangong Torajiro!
Beside the old man stood a pure-white figure in casual clothes, faintly emanating sharp Sword Qi.
—Twin Wings Edelweiss!
Then there was Bronya. Dressed in Secondary Silver Wings, she had come together with Xiao Ai.
Leaning casually against the railing, she greeted Nangong Torajiro as well. "It's been a long time, Senior Nangong."
"Hahaha~ So it's Bronya. Where is that brat White Night? Why hasn't he come?"
"Were you looking for me, Senior Nangong?"
A streak of Thunderlight fell there and condensed into White Night's form. Due to his personality, White Night's greeting was rather casual. He then looked in several other directions. "Speaking of which..."
"The people who came this time are pretty impressive~ If a conflict breaks out... that'll be quite a spectacle."
At the far western end of the stands, a figure stood at the highest point, clad in pitch-black armor that gleamed with a metallic luster.
—The Alliance's current fourth-ranked Black Knight, Ascalid!
Though she was always covered in armor, White Night knew... she was a white-haired beauty. Of course, she had another identity as well: Or-Gull's older sister!
Seemingly sensing White Night's gaze, she looked over and gave a slight nod from within her heavy black armor.
Then, on the eastern side...
There was a young man with distinctly Western features. He looked only to be in his twenties, with an extremely stern face.
He was tall and slender, dressed in a short black straight-cut coat, with a pair of sunglasses on his face.
—White Eagle's Superman, Abraham Carter, known as The Alliance's strongest Blade Dancer.
In fact,
The Alliance's Superman
The Alliance's White-Bearded Man
And Rebellion's Twin Wings
These three, each from one of the three major organizations, were all hailed as the "strongest in the world." Of course, that was only when those reclusive powerhouses remained hidden.
These were only the people White Night knew. Among the crowd were many other unusual presences that could pressure him. "Didn't they say there were very few Demons?"
"The world is a big place, little brother White Night." Nangong Torajiro looked at White Night, an unreadable glint in his eyes.
—The eastern Dragon God Temple possessed the Four Immortals, as well as the Grand Elder above them. It was truly unfathomable! Even he had been taught a lesson there before.
Amid their casual conversation, the signal sounded, and the highly anticipated final began.
(I'll write this part more briefly.)
At the beginning, Stella remained in her usual state, fighting Ikki with flames and swordsmanship.
Naturally, Stella was suppressed by Ikki. But immediately afterward... Dragon God Possession. Even the earth began to melt, transforming into a world of flames.
At that point, Ikki could no longer hold out. He was once utterly crushed by Stella and could only flee.
"One Blade Arrogance!"
Stella's overwhelming suppression of power left Ikki with no choice but to use One Blade Arrogance. However...
—That was a "dragon"!
Even so, Ikki was still no match for Stella. He gave everything he had and exhausted his potential, constantly evolving during the battle... yet the gap remained far too great.
I have to become faster!
Stronger!
Again and again, his blade slashed out. Again and again, he surpassed himself.
At last, Ikki reached his limit—there was no more room for him to evolve.
How could this be... Was I going to stop here?
Not yet!
Countless images flashed through Ikki's mind. He gripped Yin Iron tightly, and his unyielding will shone once more.
"Rumbleeeee—!"
In a daze, an enormous stone gate appeared before him... There were no carvings upon it, only an unknown antiquity and a weight as immense as the stars.
That was...
"Clank, clank, clank—"
Chains surged in from every direction, tightly locking Ikki's limbs and leaving him unable to move.
—Fate was preventing him from advancing.
Move!
Move for me!!!
Ikki exerted all his strength, trying to reach that stone gate. Yet the chains wrapped around him did not budge in the slightest. "How could this be..."
If this continued, once the duration of One Blade Arrogance ended, his defeat would be inevitable.
Before you continue