Another Magic Sword?

"Was there something you wanted to tell me, Amagiri?"

Unable to bear Amagiri Ayato's overly obvious gaze any longer, Azer directly asked him.

"Yes, a little." Amagiri Ayato seemed somewhat hesitant, but he ultimately made up his mind and said to Azer, "I heard you have a Pure Star Radiant Armament called the Black Furnace Magic Sword. Is that right?"

The moment he heard Amagiri Ayato's words, Azer knew what he wanted to talk about.

"What?" Azer looked at Amagiri Ayato and smiled. "Are you interested in Black Furnace?"

"Something like that." Amagiri Ayato's answer was vague, but his expression gradually became extremely serious. "If possible, could you let me see your Pure Star Radiant Armament?"

Rather than answer, Azer directly took the pitch-black Activation Device from the inner pocket of his coat.

This action caught not only Amagiri Ayato's attention, but also that of the two girls seated across from Azer and Amagiri Ayato.

"So this is the Black Furnace Magic Sword..."

Amagiri Ayato stared fixedly at the Black Furnace Magic Sword's Activation Device, then unconsciously reached out as though he wanted to touch it.

However...

"Bzz!"

The pitch-black Activation Device suddenly trembled. The red Omni-Response Crystal set within it also shone crimson, giving off a wave of heat as it met Amagiri Ayato's hand.

"So hot...!"

Amagiri Ayato jerked his hand back as if shocked, pain appearing on his face.

"A-Amagiri...?!"

"Hey! Are you okay?!"

Toudou Kirin and Yulis were both startled and spoke up in quick succession.

"Sorry." Azer was somewhat surprised as well. After recovering, he hurriedly put away the Black Furnace Magic Sword's Activation Device. "I didn't expect that to happen."

That was the truth.

"It's fine, it's fine." Amagiri Ayato did not seem particularly bothered. Seeing everyone's tense expressions, he quickly smiled. "Looks like it doesn't like me. Ahaha."

"Honestly, could you not be so careless?" Yulis could not help but scold him. "Basically, unless it acknowledges someone, a temperamental Pure Star Radiant Armament won't let anyone else touch it. That's common knowledge, isn't it?"

"Is that so?" Amagiri Ayato seemed genuinely unaware of this and scratched his head.

"That is true." Azer confirmed Yulis's words, but also explained, "Generally speaking, though, even if a Pure Star Radiant Armament is temperamental, it should not react this strongly while it hasn't been activated."

"Then why did your Pure Star Radiant Armament react so strongly?" Toudou Kirin timidly asked.

"Uh..." Azer immediately scratched his head too, saying somewhat awkwardly, "Maybe Black Furnace is just too sensitive and doesn't want anyone besides me touching it?"

Though he had not directly asked the Black Furnace Magic Sword, as its owner who had become one with it, Azer could still vaguely sense her thoughts.

When the Black Furnace Magic Sword rejected Amagiri Ayato's touch, Azer had sensed an emotion akin to displeasure.

Clearly, the Black Furnace Magic Sword had completely come to regard herself as Azer's possession alone and did not want anyone else touching her.

Perhaps that was the will she had developed only after becoming one with Azer and turning into Azer's Exclusive Armament?

Yulis seemed to have picked up on something. Whether she was teasing him or probing him, she said to Azer, "It seems your Pure Star Radiant Armament likes you quite a lot. No wonder you can use the Black Furnace Magic Sword's abilities in such an almost unbelievable way."

"What is the Suitability Rate between you and the Black Furnace Magic Sword?" Toudou Kirin grew curious as well, but then immediately realized something and hurriedly said, "S-Sorry, that isn't something you can casually answer. Please don't mind what I said!"

Once a Pure Star Radiant Armament was loaned out, its information was generally made public.

Therefore, the fact that Azer had become the Black Furnace Magic Sword's user was no secret.

But something like a Suitability Rate would not be publicly disclosed so casually.

It was not exactly an important secret, but some people would still choose to conceal it so others could not figure out their true capabilities.

Aware of that, Toudou Kirin immediately apologized once she realized it.

"It's nothing. This really isn't much of a secret." Azer shook his head and said nonchalantly, "As for the Suitability Rate between Black Furnace and me, the final displayed value was 100%."

Well... the final displayed value really had been 100%. After that, there had only been garbled text, without even a numerical value. Azer was not exactly lying.

The main issue was that exceeding the limit value was rather too shocking to speak of openly. It was not suitable for discussion in such a public setting.

So Azer had played a little word game.

Even so, it was still astonishing enough.

"Complete compatibility?"

Yulis murmured softly, her gaze toward Azer becoming more cautious.

"That's amazing."

Toudou Kirin, on the other hand, did not have many thoughts about it and simply showed pure admiration.

Only Amagiri Ayato, having just arrived and not knowing enough about Pure Star Radiant Armaments, merely felt somewhat regretful.

The reason he had come to this Duel City and transferred into Seidoukan Academy was actually to search for his older sister.

Amagiri Ayato's sister had come here five years ago, studied at Seidoukan Academy for a time, and then suddenly vanished without a trace.

No, she had not merely disappeared.

After that, all information about Amagiri Ayato's sister had been erased. No matter what method was used, no one could find any trace of her, as though such a person had never existed in this world.

It was for his sister's sake that Amagiri Ayato had chosen to transfer here and enroll at Seidoukan Academy.

And the reason he had wanted to see the Black Furnace Magic Sword was because its previous user had been his sister.

Of course, all information regarding that matter had also been erased. As a result, no one knew that several years ago, someone at Seidoukan Academy had obtained the Black Furnace Magic Sword among the Four-Colored Magic Swords and become its user.

People only knew that the Black Furnace Magic Sword's previous user had appeared over a decade ago. They had no idea that a female student at Seidoukan Academy had wielded the Black Furnace Magic Sword several years prior.

Though she had only been one of its users, the Black Furnace Magic Sword had indeed spent some time with Amagiri Ayato's sister.

Therefore, in the original story, after transferring in, Amagiri Ayato eventually used his Special Student privileges to apply to borrow the Black Furnace Magic Sword. He gained its recognition and became its user with a Suitability Rate of 97%.

Unfortunately, Amagiri Ayato's high Suitability Rate was supported entirely by the strength of his own Star Power. He had always been poor at controlling and adjusting his Star Power itself, which meant that despite his extremely high Suitability Rate with the Black Furnace Magic Sword, he had never been able to properly wield it or bring out its true power.

Knowing this well, Azer saw the regret on Amagiri Ayato's face. After thinking for a moment, he said, "You're a Special Student, so you have one chance to freely choose a Pure Star Radiant Armament. If you're interested, why not try the Equipment Bureau?"

The Black Furnace Magic Sword was now Azer's Exclusive Armament. Even if he wanted to give it to Amagiri Ayato, he could not.

But even without the Black Furnace Magic Sword, Seidoukan Academy still had other Pure Star Radiant Armaments.

Amagiri Ayato was quite strong. It was only because of the seal within him that he was unable to display his true power under normal circumstances.

If he could obtain a Pure Star Radiant Armament, it would certainly be a great help to him.

Azer had taken the Black Furnace Magic Sword from him, so finding a way to guide him toward obtaining another Pure Star Radiant Armament could be considered some measure of compensation.

Just as Azer was thinking that...

"Actually, after this weekend, I'll be going to the Equipment Bureau to choose a Pure Star Radiant Armament."

With his usual easygoing smile, Amagiri Ayato said this.

"The Student Council President said that in a few days, a Pure Star Radiant Armament connected to the Black Furnace Magic Sword will be transferred to Seidoukan Academy."

"It seems to be another magic sword?"

"When the time comes, I'll participate in that sword's Suitability Rate assessment."