Chapter 387: Kurono: I Have One Damn Thing I Absolutely Must Say Today!
Boom—!
Flames shot into the sky… no, it should be called a pillar of light soaring upward.
A scorching storm of light seemed to sweep across the entire world.
And along with the light and heat came a roar that did not belong to a human.
"Roooooooooar—!"
Color vanished, leaving only the light that brought endless heat.
Sound vanished, leaving only that soul-shaking dragon roar.
Bahamut Howl.
It was the Noble Art Stella had once unconsciously used during the Hagun attack.
The power and range of this move had left a deep impression on everyone who experienced that incident.
Now that Stella had become stronger, this move had also become even more terrifying.
If used at full power, it could even melt an entire city in an instant.
Therefore, theoretically, this move could not be used in a match, even with Illusionary Form activated.
A Device's Illusionary Form did indeed have the effect of not causing physical damage, but that effect only worked on the human body.
Or rather, it only worked on flesh.
Facilities, earth, the environment, plants, and so on were all outside the range of Illusionary Form's effect.
Destructive power of this level would completely destroy the Seven Star Sword Art Festival itself, so it absolutely could not be used.
That was how it should have been in theory, but…
When the light scattered and the roar ended, what appeared before everyone's eyes was an extremely tragic battle zone.
There was already nothing left on the field.
The red earth was charred black, making one think of a barren primordial planet.
And this apocalyptic scene stopped precisely at the very outer edge of the battle zone, without harming even the slightest bit of the audience seating.
From the looks of it, it was almost as though the field skin had simply been changed.
If not for the four opponents who had been blown out of the field and smashed into the audience seating, there might really have been spectators who thought so.
Just as Stella had told Luke before the match began, the match ended in an instant.
However, no one was paying attention to that now.
Without exception, everyone raised their heads and looked up at the sky, staring at that enormous shadow that covered the heavens.
No, that was no longer some shadow.
The two massive footprints pressed into the ground by the crimson dragon that had appeared behind Stella told everyone the truth.
It was real!
…
"Oh my… this… really was… a miscalculation…"
As Stella's opponent, Pierrot was the only one among the four who remained conscious.
The reason was naturally his body.
This mechanical doll made of steel and resin was not afraid of injuries at all, but because of that, the non-flesh doll was not protected by Illusionary Form.
Therefore, at this moment, although he retained consciousness, Pierrot actually only had less than half of his head left.
The rest had melted the instant it came into contact with the roar.
If Stella's goal had not been to blast them out of the field, Pierrot probably would not even have that half-head remaining.
He was now regretting his insufficient consideration.
"I… didn't… expect… she would become… this strong…"
Pierrot's ability, Marionette, could control humans.
He had originally planned to control Tsuruya Mikoto as a hostage, then use Stella's kindness to force her to give up the match.
Who would have thought Stella's growth had far exceeded his expectations?
She could even freely control this kind of large-scale Noble Art.
Clearly, the girl's mana control, which had originally been B-rank, had unknowingly risen to A-rank.
"Forget it… the rest… I'll leave… to Sara…"
At this point, Pierrot's consciousness completely cut off.
As the focus of Pierrot's attention, Stella did not even look at him once.
After defeating all her opponents in a single strike, the girl stood in the center of the field and pointed her sword toward a certain direction in the audience seating.
Her meaning went without saying!
Luke looked at the monster in the arena, and at the tip of the sword the girl pointed toward him.
Feeling the power inside his body suddenly increase, a faint, indescribable smile appeared on the corners of his lips.
"So she is Crimson Princess?"
At this moment, Edelweiss's voice came from beside Luke.
"This is my first time seeing her, but… I see. She truly is an unimaginable genius."
"Her mana quantity isn't something someone like me can compare with."
Edelweiss's remark surprised Luke even more than Stella's declaration of war.
He raised an eyebrow, turned his head, and asked,
"Even you, as a Desperado, can't compare to her?"
"Mm. It's not merely that I can't compare. The difference between our mana quantities is like heaven and earth."
Edelweiss gently nodded.
She was not originally the type with especially high mana.
At most, she was at the level of an ordinary genius.
Even after more than ten years as a Desperado and over ten years of increasing her mana, there was still no way for her to compare with a monster like Stella, whose mana surpassed ordinary Blazers by more than thirty times.
"Without a doubt, she will be a child of heaven who carries the core of the world in the future."
"By the way, she's declaring war on you. Don't you plan to respond?"
"Hm? If I respond to her, won't you get jealous?"
Luke spoke teasingly with a wicked smile.
Edelweiss rolled her eyes at him in annoyance.
"Do I look like the kind of woman who gets jealous over nothing?!"
"It's just a response to a declaration of war. How did your mind jump to me getting jealous?"
"Heh. I wonder who it was that got jealous and gave her body to—hiss!!!"
Before Luke could finish speaking, Edelweiss cut him off with a red face.
The Valkyrie wrapped mana around her right foot, which was covered in white stockings, then kicked Luke hard in the shin.
"You only know how to be glib. Crimson Princess's growth this time is not simple. You haven't entered the Desperado realm yet, so be careful not to overturn unexpectedly."
"Hiss… you really don't hold back when you kick… But do you really think I'll lose?"
"Hmph!"
Edelweiss turned her head away and refused to answer that question.
However, her attitude, which did not show even the slightest worry, had already told Luke the answer.
Luke smiled and did not mind Edelweiss's dishonest reaction.
He spoke.
"Since you won't get jealous, then I'll respond."
After saying that, Luke summoned Starfall Sword, and a sharp sword intent shot into the sky!
At this moment, Stella also saw Luke's response.
The girl revealed a fearless smile, and the crimson dragon behind her seemed to sense something as it once again raised its head and roared toward the heavens!
"Roooooooooar—!"
The two auras spiraled through the air.
Just as they were about to collide violently—
Click—!
Along with the sound of a bullet being loaded beside his ear, Luke suddenly felt a cold, hard object press against his head.
"If you dare make another move and increase my workload, even if Twin-Wings is protecting you, I'll shoot you dead, you little brat."
Kurono's face was dark as she pressed the gun in her hand hard against Luke's head and spoke through gritted teeth.
…
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