What He Was Truly Good At

In truth, Azer's performance after taking the stage had already silenced the entire audience.

"...Did you see that?"

"No... I couldn't see anything at all..."

"Their fighting pace is so fast, my eyes can't keep up at all."

"I'm not surprised that Gale Blade Lightning is that strong, but what's going on with the Surging Star Magic Sword?"

"Hasn't he gotten way stronger than during the last Official Ranking Battle?"

Many people who had seen Azer's previous duel wore surprised expressions, clearly shocked by his performance just now.

"He actually kept up with Kirin's speed?" Yulis was equally astonished. "Did that guy hold back during the last Official Ranking Battle?"

No, he had not.

Claudia silently rejected Yulis's conclusion.

Though she did not know Azer's true strength, he definitely had not possessed strength at this level before.

Even Toudou Kouichirou had managed to gather detailed information on Azer, so it was naturally impossible for Claudia, who had been quietly keeping an eye on Azer lately, not to have done the same.

And based on that information, Claudia could easily determine that Azer had absolutely not been this strong before.

He had only grown so rapidly during this period of time!

As for how he had done it... Claudia immediately thought of the Omni-Response Ore.

After all, when Azer had asked Claudia for help, he had openly admitted that with this Omni-Response Ore, he would be able to quickly increase his strength.

It seemed that what he had said back then had come true.

"This really is quite a surprise."

Claudia murmured, unsure whether she felt pleased or helpless.

Naturally, Azer knew nothing of the commotion in the audience.

He continued facing Toudou Kirin and spoke.

"Toudou Style's United Cranes is indeed impressive. It was quite an eye-opener." Azer wore a faint smile. "But if you think you can defeat me with just that, it won't be so easy."

"Is that so?" Toudou Kirin looked at Azer and smiled. "Then should I get to see Senior's swordsmanship next?"

At that, Azer shook his head.

"I don't have swordsmanship as miraculous as yours, nor am I some thoroughly seasoned swordsman. I only fight with a sword because the first weapon that truly belonged to me was one."

As he spoke, Azer raised his Star Power.

"You said it before too, didn't you? My swordsmanship doesn't seem like it was meant to bring out all of my own strength. It feels more like a technique used to bring out the full potential of the weapon in my hand."

"That is correct."

"So I'll show you what I'm truly good at."

Azer poured a massive amount of Star Power into the Black Furnace Magic Sword, causing the Omni-Response Crystal on it to bloom with dazzling light.

"Bzzz!"

Black patterns emerged around the blade, writhing as though alive. They spiraled down around the Black Furnace Magic Sword before finally flowing into the Omni-Response Crystal, making the pure white blade begin to tremble.

The heat gathered on the Black Furnace Magic Sword suddenly surged, gradually turning its pure white blade purple-black.

"Boom!"

Then, Azer's entire body seemed to burst into flames. His figure swayed as though wrapped in blazing sunlight, releasing terrifying hot wind in every direction.

"Here it comes!"

Toudou Kirin's entire body tensed.

"What intense heat...!"

In the front-row seats of the VIP section, Amagiri Ayato and the others all felt a hot wind blow directly toward them.

"It's that one from last time!"

"The one that instantly defeated Yakutdi Van Ken...!"

"Has it finally come out?"

The other spectators were either alarmed or intensely focused, as though they had already witnessed the climax of this duel.

Under such circumstances, the hot wind blowing from Azer grew increasingly terrifying, until the entire stage seemed to have been baked red by the high temperature. It became so hot that the defensive barrier activated, finally preventing the audience from being further affected.

This scene brought the rumor surrounding the Black Furnace Magic Sword to the minds of countless people.

"As long as it touches something, it melts it. If it pierces the ground, it turns the earth into a furnace..."

That rumor had now become reality before everyone's eyes.

Standing within it, sweat trickled down Toudou Kirin's forehead. Baked by the intense heat, she stared somewhat blankly at Azer across from her.

The hot wind around Azer had now become a heatwave. At its center, he released immense Star Power from his entire body, faintly glowing like a star.

This was...

"The Surging Star Magic Sword...!"

The moment Toudou Kirin's dazed murmur fell, the magic swordsman gleaming with starlight within the heatwave moved.

"Boom!"

As though flames had exploded, Azer, surrounded by hot wind, vanished from where he stood.

"...!"

A sense of crisis suddenly flashed through Toudou Kirin's heart, and she leaped away without hesitation.

"Bzzz!"

The instant after Toudou Kirin jumped aside, Azer suddenly appeared, wrapped in hot wind. The Black Furnace Magic Sword in his hand swept up a searing wave of flame as it slashed through the spot she had just occupied at astonishing speed.

"Boom!"

The next second, the hot wind around Azer exploded, and he vanished once more.

"Not good!"

Toudou Kirin could not see Azer, but she could sense an astonishing heat rapidly closing in on her, so fast that it made her scalp tingle.

"Swoosh...!"

The sound of tearing wind rang out as Azer streaked past like a flash of fire, surrounded by hot wind. The Black Furnace Magic Sword in his hand came down in a savage slash.

At the critical moment, Star Power surged throughout Toudou Kirin's body. She desperately twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding the purple-black slash of godlike speed.

Brushing past Toudou Kirin in midair, Azer shot upward like a streak of fire toward the ceiling of the stage. He landed on the defensive barrier above, then, upside down, violently kicked off the transparent barrier and shot out again amid a sound like exploding flames.

Like this, Azer, wreathed in hot wind, attacked Toudou Kirin several times. His speed was utterly unbelievable, leaving the spectators able to see only a streak of fire darting back and forth across the stage. Their mouths fell open in shock, unable to react.

"No! I can't see him at all...!"

Toudou Kirin escaped danger several times and nearly had her school badge struck by the elusive Black Furnace Magic Sword.

If not for the astonishing heat Azer carried reaching her before he did every time he approached, allowing Toudou Kirin to sense him, she would have already lost.

Thinking this, Toudou Kirin tightened her grip on her sword.

"Calm down..."

Toudou Kirin took a deep breath, listening to the fiery explosions ringing beside her ears while sensing the heat.

"Senior Azer's speed is terrifyingly fast right now, but it isn't completely without a trace."

Toudou Kirin raised her eyes and stared around her.

"Be serious..."

"Focus..."

"See through him...!"

As Toudou Kirin silently repeated those words, an inexplicable light began to flicker in her eyes.

Unfortunately...

"Too late!"

The moment that voice entered Toudou Kirin's ears, Azer's figure suddenly burst into her field of vision.

There was no hot wind around him.

"Oh no...?!"

Toudou Kirin's expression changed drastically.

"Bzzz!"

The purple-black blade of the Black Furnace Magic Sword instantly swept across. The sound of the blade formed from high-temperature energy vibrating flashed by in an instant, yet it continued echoing across the stage without end.

"----"

At that moment, every spectator in the audience rose to their feet uncontrollably and in unison.

This included Amagiri Ayato, Yulis, Claudia, and the others in the front-row seats.

In the arena, Azer and Toudou Kirin had both stopped moving at some unknown point, facing one another. One leaned backward as though preparing to leap away, while the other held the continuously vibrating Black Furnace Magic Sword, its purple-black blade frozen in the middle of its slash.

The entire world seemed to have frozen in that instant.

"Crack..."

Not long after, the sound of cracking emerged.

It came from the school badge on Toudou Kirin's chest.

A smooth crack, glowing red from the heat, appeared across the badge, causing it to slowly split apart.

"Clang..."

The badge, split into two, fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

"The duel is over."

"The victor is Azer."

The mechanical voice announcing the result echoed through the entire stage.