Chapter 343: The Still-Rampaging Dragon and Luke's Arrival!
With her gun aimed at Edelweiss, Kurono did not even know whether she should pull the trigger.
However, looking at Twin-Wings drifting all the way over, she ultimately gave up on the idea of firing.
It was not because of the strange scene before her.
It was because of the fear surrounding her heart.
As Edelweiss approached, Kurono's body gradually stiffened.
The finger resting on the trigger seemed to refuse to obey her.
Kurono knew what this was.
She recognized this power.
She had once touched that mighty power from fate as well.
But compared to the mighty power she had once sensed when standing before the gate, the Desperado power lingering around Edelweiss at this moment was even deeper.
Kurono's instincts told her that the instant she pulled the trigger would be the moment of her death.
"…Monster!"
"First rude, and now impolite…"
Compared to Kurono's tension, Edelweiss remained calm and composed.
"Calm down. I already said Luke is no longer here."
"As for the result of the battle, I believe it should not be difficult for you to understand."
When she said that final sentence, Edelweiss's face revealed a faint, almost imperceptible smile.
And under Edelweiss's indication, Kurono saw the massive wound on her body.
"This is?!"
Seeing that sword wound, then combining it with the current situation, an astonishing conclusion surfaced in her mind.
…
Overwhelming strength.
This was the only thought Ikki and the others had at this moment.
In only an instant, everyone had suffered heavy injuries.
Aside from Ikki and Touka, who had avoided the attack through extreme speed, everyone else, including Arisuin, had fallen to the ground.
With only one strike, the offensive gathered by Hagun Academy's group had been crushed.
Just now, ever since the One-Armed Swordsman Wallenstein appeared, the people from Akatsuki Academy had stopped fighting.
They stood to the side as though watching a show, watching as Hagun Academy's group gathered together and attacked Wallenstein at the same time.
One-Armed Swordsman.
From the title alone, one could tell that Wallenstein had lost an arm.
For a swordsman, losing an arm had an extremely serious effect on strength.
Even if it was not the dominant hand, once one could no longer wield a sword with both hands, a huge flaw would appear in that swordsman's swordsmanship.
This was especially true for a greatsword swordsman like Wallenstein.
One could imagine how difficult it was to swing a greatsword as tall as a person with only one hand.
Even more terrifying was that the arm he lost was his dominant right hand.
Even so, Wallenstein was still respectfully called Sword Saint.
Although the title contained some exaggeration, it was still enough to prove the terror of his strength.
"Is this all you amount to?"
Wallenstein held the greatsword in his left hand and looked at Arisuin with contempt.
"I thought you must have found some powerful companions to decide to betray me. I never expected it would be this group of weaklings."
"And you needed me to take action against this level? Is this the unexpected situation you mentioned?"
The final sentence was spoken to Pierrot.
As he spoke, Wallenstein walked toward Ikki and the others.
He had no intention of wasting too much time on this matter.
Although having him personally defeat the representatives did not quite meet the plan's requirements, it was enough as long as these students could not participate in the Seven Star Sword Art Festival.
In terms of the result, it was about the same.
What they wanted was the fact that Hagun Academy would withdraw from the Seven Star Sword Art Festival.
The process did not matter.
Pierrot actually wanted to explain.
The "unexpected situation" he had mentioned in the message referred to Stella, who seemed somewhat abnormal.
However, before he could speak, a blazing light rushing toward them made Pierrot understand that there was no longer any need to explain.
Boom—!
Flames struck the ground, and a violent shockwave and scorching heat instantly swept everything away.
And along with the flames came an enormous roar, as well as a terrifying aura that covered the entire area.
"Roooooooar—!"
Stella descended from the sky without any pause.
Almost at the same moment she landed, a crimson pillar of light that pierced heaven and earth suddenly rose.
It did not distinguish between friend and foe.
The indiscriminate bombardment of light and flame immediately blasted everyone present away.
Boom—!
Like a meteorite falling to earth, a massive crater appeared along with the sound.
At the center of the crater stood the red-haired girl, whose eyes contained not even the slightest trace of reason.
The violence and frenzy within them announced what she would do next.
…
At this moment, what appeared before Luke, who had walked all the way back to Hagun Academy, was a wasteland created by Stella.
Looking at the dried-up earth before him, Luke rubbed his forehead and stepped inside.
"So it really did start… Or should I say, is it already about to end?"
Feeling the extreme light and heat, as though the sun itself had descended, Luke silently sighed.
"Looks like Stella really won't be able to stop this by herself."
Luke did not walk very quickly.
As he advanced, he did his best to adjust his condition.
To be honest, facing a rampaging Stella in his current state really left Luke without much confidence.
However, Stella's rampage also could not be maintained forever.
As time passed, the girl's strength would eventually run out.
Neither of them was in peak condition.
It might not be as difficult as he imagined.
If he were not worried that the irrational Stella would forcibly overdraw her potential, Luke could even wait until she exhausted herself and collapsed.
"I hope that after this, Stella's control over this power improves a little."
Luke thought this as he walked.
Suddenly, a figure lying in the wasteland appeared ahead of him.
A hint of amusement appeared on Luke's lips, and he walked over, greeting the figure.
"Yo. How does it feel to face 'despair' again?"
Ouma, who had been lying on the ground and quietly staring at the sky while thinking about who knew what, was pulled back to reality by Luke's voice.
He turned his head with extreme difficulty and looked toward the source of the voice.
The instant he clearly saw Luke, shock appeared in his eyes.
"You are… Why are you here?!"
"Weren't you supposed to be taken care of by Twin-Wings…"
"I did indeed fight Edelweiss."
Luke smiled and interrupted Ouma's shocked question.
"We fought, and then I came back. So, why don't you guess who won?"
Ouma looked at Luke's teasing expression.
Shock and all kinds of complicated emotions intertwined in his heart, refusing to fade for a long time.
"You really… did it?"
Rather than a question, Ouma's words sounded more like he was asking himself.
Then Ouma suddenly asked somewhat urgently,
"D-Don't tell me, you've already reached that realm?"
"Unfortunately, I did not become a Desperado."
"Then how did you… Twin-Wings didn't use that power in battle?"
"Hmm… Well, although it was only for an instant, she did indeed use it."
"…"
Looking at Ouma as he fell into silence, Luke waited for a moment.
Only after Ouma's emotions calmed slightly did Luke speak.
"So? It's not as unreachable as you imagined, right?"
…
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