Curiosity, or Malice

Just as Azer and Toudou Kirin officially formed a team and threw themselves into targeted training, news of their intention to compete in the Phoenix Star Martial Festival spread across the internet at an astonishing speed, exactly as expected.

Naturally, the first to receive the news were the other academies competing against Seidoukan Academy.

More specifically, the student council presidents who held relatively high authority and status within their respective academies.

"—Hmph. That sword again?"

In a dimly lit room, a man clad in a dark student uniform, with a school badge bearing the pattern of twin swords on his chest, let out a cold snort.

The man was somewhat overweight and rather short. His appearance could only be called ordinary, yet his gaze was exceptionally imposing. His plump face seemed perpetually set in an expression of fury, so tense that it inspired fear.

Before this plump man floated a Spatial Window playing a video.

The video showed the entire duel between Azer and Toudou Kirin.

The plump man glared furiously at the window—or rather, at the Black Furnace Magic Sword in Azer's hand on the screen.

When he saw Azer's entire body gleam with starlight as he released the heat of the Black Furnace Magic Sword, forming hot winds and heat waves that wrapped around him, the man's intimidating gaze shifted almost imperceptibly.

It grew grave. It grew cold.

He opened another window beside him, this one containing Azer's personal intelligence file.

The file was so detailed that it was no less thorough than the one Toudou Kouichirou had given Toudou Kirin.

"...He has only had it for a little over a month, yet he can already bring out that sword's power to this extent?"

The plump man muttered coldly to himself.

After pondering for a while, he picked up a phone.

It was a special communication device that only he, as Student Council President, could use.

"Though it may be needless worry, we must begin making arrangements now to avoid repeating the same mistake."

His eyes flickered as he made the call.

"Release that woman. Have her register for the Phoenix Star Martial Festival."

A cold, emotionless voice echoed softly through the dim room.

"Tell her that this time, her mission is to completely destroy someone."

"Seidoukan Academy's current Ranked First, Azer."

"Cripple him for me."

This was a retro space utterly out of place amid the modern city.

Within it stood pavilions and towers, little bridges over flowing water. Ancient and grand, it presented an Eastern classical landscape that resembled an imperial palace.

At the very depths of this space, a little girl wearing a Yellow Dragon School Badge on her chest sat upon a throne-like chair, watching a video with great interest.

That video, astonishingly, also showed the entire duel between Azer and Toudou Kirin.

"Hmm-hmm, not bad at all."

Upon reaching the end, the little girl actually clapped her hands in delight.

"Though they are still somewhat immature, their styles are already approaching maturity. Extraordinary potential, extraordinary potential indeed."

"Fine seedlings. Both are fine seedlings."

"If this old woman trained them, they should be able to catch up to Xiao Hui soon enough, no?"

She looked less than ten years old, yet she spoke with the seasoned tone of an elderly matron, creating a profoundly incongruous impression.

"What a pity, what a pity. Why aren't all the promising ones from Jielong?"

"If they were Jielong's children, this old woman could take them as disciples immediately."

"Especially this one..."

In the end, the little girl's gaze also settled on Azer in the video. Watching his starlit figure gleam amid the heat waves, an unfathomable expression surfaced on her face, which looked even more childish than Toudou Kirin's.

"A technique never seen before, a fighting style never conceived of. There are clearly no traces of rigorous tempering, yet it possesses the seamless naturalness of something innate."

"Rather than an uncut jade being carefully carved, he is more like a raw stone continuously growing stronger on its own."

"Beneath that ever-thickening shell, what exactly is hidden there? Even this old woman cannot quite see through it."

"How strange. Truly strange."

Yet as she spoke, the smile on the little girl's face grew increasingly delighted.

"Interesting. This city is only interesting when it is like this."

"It is somewhat regrettable that he was not shaped by this old woman's hands, but this old woman is also looking forward to seeing how far that boy can go."

"Grow up quickly, boy."

"This old woman expects you to bring her the greatest delight!"

As she continued speaking, the little girl's expression turned savage.

Like a ferocious beast poised to devour its prey.

Asterisk, Redevelopment Zone.

As the name implied, this was an area not yet officially incorporated into Asterisk's urban district.

If one had to use a single term to describe it, that term would be slum.

This area was filled not only with people who could no longer get by in the academies for various reasons, but also Star Vein Generation criminals who had fled into Asterisk from outside. As a result, it had long become a slum in the truest sense—underdeveloped, plagued by numerous public safety concerns, and extremely dangerous. It was Asterisk's gray zone, the dark side of the city.

There were even gangs here, along with Black Streets built by those gangs. Illegal businesses were everywhere, while delinquent thugs and underworld gang members could be seen at every turn. Just imagining what might happen to someone who wandered in carelessly was enough to make one's heart pound.

Yet in one corner of such a place, a young girl in the bloom of youth appeared.

She wore plain clothes and a beret. Her long chestnut hair hung naturally behind her, covering her overly delicate and slender back.

She sat atop a fragment of broken wall. One slender hand rested against its fractured surface, while the fingers of her other hand tapped lightly, as though playing the piano, elegantly and naturally browsing the Spatial Window unfolded before her.

"Azer...?"

Watching the boy swing the Black Furnace Magic Sword and sever Toudou Kirin's school badge, the girl let out a pleasant laugh.

"He really is strong."

Recalling what had happened last time at the shop her academy classmates liked to visit, the girl chuckled again.

"Like that Four-Colored Magic Swords User from Seidoukan Academy, he has only possessed the Black Furnace Magic Sword for such a short time, yet he can already wield the magic sword's power to this extent. It was a good thing I kept an eye on him."

At first, the girl had not paid much attention to the boy.

He was merely a user of a Pure Star Radiant Armament. It was not as if she had never seen such people before. Even if he had the potential to become highly ranked, someone of his level normally would not warrant attention from a person of her status and strength.

The turning point was what had happened at the shop last time.

Perhaps those involved had not noticed, but the girl had been listening to their conversation then, and she had also turned her gaze toward them.

Thus, she saw that scene.

She saw the black Activation Device in the boy's hand, unwilling to let anyone else even touch it and willing only to remain in his hand.

Because of her special ability, the girl had indeed sensed an extremely faint will at the time.

It was the will of the magic sword.

A will that was somewhat akin to dissatisfaction, and somewhat akin to foolish loyalty.

Only then did the girl realize in surprise that the boy might not simply be a user of the magic sword.

He was the magic sword's true master.

He was the recognized Magic Sword King.

After using her own connections and channels to dig up information on the boy, the girl discovered with further surprise that his Suitability Rate with the magic sword had actually surpassed the limit value.

From that moment onward, the girl became curious about the boy and began paying special attention to him.

"I wonder whether he will compete in the King Dragon Star Martial Festival?"

The girl murmured to herself.

"If I could meet him at the King Dragon Star Martial Festival, it should be quite interesting, shouldn't it?"

With a wave of her hand, the girl dismissed the window and lightly leaped down from the ruins.

"I look forward to meeting you again, Azer."

As though singing, the girl hummed a beautiful melody and turned to leave.

Behind her, one after another, people dressed like delinquents and holding various Huang-style Armaments lay sprawled across the ground, unmoving for a long while...