Be Glad This Is Only a Match

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOO—!"

When Azer and Toudou Kirin walked through the contestants' passageway and onto Asterisk's largest Duel Stage, they were first greeted by thunderous cheers.

Cheers incomparable to those of an Official Ranking Battle, as though they were about to burst through the entire Sirius Dome. They erupted alongside the stage lights, stirring the heart with their sheer force.

Even Azer was shaken by the tremendous roar. Looking at his reflection in the enormous screen spread above the stage, he finally felt the reality of standing upon the world's most watched stage.

Azer understood that, from this moment onward, his appearance would be etched into the eyes of people all over the world. Even those who had not come to watch the match in person could now see him through live broadcasts everywhere.

Including... those with ulterior motives.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for waiting!"

At that moment, the live commentary began.

During the Star Martial Festival, every match received professional live coverage from the broadcast booth. Right now, two women were providing commentary from the Sirius Dome's broadcast room.

"Please look to the left side of the stage! Entering now are Seidoukan Academy's current Ranked First, contestant Azer, and former Ranked First, contestant Toudou Kirin!"

"Contestant Azer is the only Ranked First participating in this Phoenix Star Martial Festival! According to reliable sources, he was merely an unknown ordinary student three months ago. It was only then that he first made a name for himself in Seidoukan Academy's Official Ranking Battle, immediately rising to thirteenth place. In the following month's Official Ranking Battle, he directly defeated the former Ranked First and reached the top of Seidoukan Academy. His rise has truly been astonishingly rapid."

"That's right! He is undoubtedly a powerful contender! And he is also the wielder of the Pure Star Radiant Armament, the Black Furnace Magic Sword!"

"One of the legendary Four-Colored Magic Swords! In terms of fame, it must rank among the very greatest, right?"

"All Four-Colored Magic Swords are renowned for being difficult to wield. Before contestant Azer, the only wielder among all of Asterisk was Seidoukan Academy's Ranked First—the peerless swordsman known as the Holy Knight. It seems the Black Furnace Magic Sword has not had a wielder in more than a decade!"

"Not only that, contestant Azer himself seems exceptionally skilled at wielding magic swords. Judging by the duel videos circulating online, his control over the magic sword is nothing short of miraculous. That is why he earned the title Surging Star Magic Sword, and is acknowledged by everyone as a magic sword fighter."

"Furthermore, his partner is former Seidoukan Academy Ranked First, contestant Toudou Kirin, who rose to Ranked First after just one month of enrollment at the young age of thirteen. A pair made up of two Ranked Firsts—this is simply an unprecedented super team!"

"In fact, the two of them also have the highest online support rate. They are absolutely among this Phoenix Star Martial Festival's championship favorites."

"A tremendously powerful and tremendously popular pair! What kind of spectacular performance will they bring us?"

"I'm already looking forward to it."

The commentators' enthusiasm was perfectly on point. Their back-and-forth directly drove the atmosphere in the arena to its peak, making the already thunderous cheers swell even louder.

"...I knew it would be big, but it seems I still underestimated this."

Even Azer felt his heartbeat quicken.

Not from nervousness, nor unease, but because his blood was starting to race, a faint excitement rising within him.

In that state, Azer turned to Toudou Kirin beside him.

"You all right, Kirin?"

Azer had not forgotten to check on his shy partner.

"Yes." Toudou Kirin gripped the sword at her waist and answered with a cool expression, "I'm fine."

The moment she held a sword, the girl immediately became a proper swordsman. Azer realized his concern had been unnecessary.

So Azer shifted his gaze toward the opposite side.

Their opponents had already entered as well.

They were a pair of powerfully built men.

They wore black student uniforms, forming a stark contrast with Azer and Toudou Kirin's white uniforms. Their faces were vicious-looking, and their hair had been dyed all sorts of colors. One had a seaweed-like cut, while the other wore a mohawk. At a glance, they were clearly the sort of people who belonged to a gang.

Azer had seen the Tournament Schedule and knew that these two were students of Lefevre Black Academy. Both were University Department students, ranked twenty-fifth and twenty-ninth respectively within Lefevre Black Academy.

Though they were not among Page One's Twelve, coming from a chaotic place like Lefevre Black Academy and still managing to rank within the top thirty meant that, if they had been at Seidoukan Academy, they likely would not have been much weaker than Arctite Vanken.

They did not seem afraid of Azer or Toudou Kirin in the slightest. Instead, they glared at the pair with savage expressions.

"What Ranked First? Aren't they just two damn brats?"

"They actually dared to steal our spotlight. We need to teach them a lesson."

"Little punks ought to go back to the academy and play house!"

"I'll take the girl. Just watch me squeeze her tits—"

Azer vaguely caught those words, and the smile vanished from his face.

"...Azer Senior?"

Noticing the change in Azer's mood, Toudou Kirin spoke in confusion.

"It's nothing." Azer said expressionlessly, "I'll take the seaweed-head. You deal with the mohawk."

The opponent Azer intended to face was the one viciously staring at Toudou Kirin's chest.

"Remember, don't hold back."

Azer took out the pitch-black Activation Device.

"Yes!"

Toudou Kirin did not know what had happened to Azer, but whatever her senior said, she would do.

"Then, the second match begins now!"

The commentator's voice rang out at just the right moment, and the school badges worn on the chests of the four contestants lit up simultaneously.

"Phoenix Star Martial Festival, L District, first round, second match—begin!"

As the mechanical announcement from their school badges was amplified across the entire stage, a loud chime abruptly sounded.

The match had officially begun.

"Die!"

Across from them, the two Lefevre Black Academy thugs roared at the same time, drew their Huang-style Armaments, and charged at Azer and Toudou Kirin.

"You're mine!"

The seaweed-headed thug gripped a machete-like Huang-style Armament and charged straight toward Toudou Kirin, his face twisted into a vicious grin.

But just as he rushed in front of Toudou Kirin, Azer suddenly flashed into his path.

"Bzzz!"

The pitch-black Activation Device activated without a sound. A pure white blade appeared amid scarlet radiance, emitting a vibrating hum.

"There it is! The Pure Star Radiant Armament—the Black Furnace Magic Sword!"

The female commentator shouted from the broadcast booth, but Azer shut her out.

Azer merely looked coldly at the seaweed-headed thug. Before the grin could fade from the man's face, he abruptly swung his sword.

"Boom!"

In an instant, hot wind swept forth like a sudden wave of flame, crashing head-on into the seaweed-headed thug.

The seaweed-headed thug did not even have time to react before the sudden hot wind struck him.

"AAAAAH...!"

With a miserable scream, the seaweed-headed thug was blasted away as though he had been thrown into a microwave. Scorched smoke rose from his entire body.

"Y-you bastard...!"

His face twisted as he felt he had nearly been roasted alive, and he struggled to get back up.

"Boom!"

The next second, another blast of hot wind struck him.

"AAAAAH...!"

The seaweed-headed thug immediately screamed again and was sent flying in a miserable tumble across the ground.

The two direct hits from the hot wind not only inflicted considerable damage on him, but also burned his clothes into tatters.

"M-my hair...!"

Yet the thug paid no attention to his clothes at all, clutching his head as he screamed.

On closer inspection, his hair had been scorched as well, turning him from seaweed-head into charcoal-head.

Holding the Black Furnace Magic Sword, Azer slowly walked before him and spoke without expression.

"Be glad this is only a match. Otherwise, it wouldn't be the head on top that I'd roast—it would be the one below."

Hearing that, charcoal-head's entire body stiffened. He felt scorching heat all over, except for his lower half, where a chill ran through him...