The Final Is About to Begin! - Anime: Infinite Swordsman! (Danmachi+Asterisk War+Rakudai)

Chapter 466: The Final Is About to Begin!

As the second princess of the Vermillion Kingdom and currently its strongest Blazer, Stella possessed considerable authority within her homeland.

There was virtually no important information that would be deliberately hidden from her.

And yet, Stella had never heard of this power.

She did not even know its name.

Her own mana had increased.

Luke's mana had increased.

Those were facts Stella had personally experienced and sensed during their battle.

This was information capable of overturning one of the world's most fundamental assumptions.

Stella refused to believe the League knew nothing about it.

Yet the Vermillion Kingdom had been kept completely in the dark.

This was not something the League could brush aside with a few convenient explanations.

In the worst case, it could even cause numerous uninformed member nations to leave the League.

It was an issue serious enough to affect the entire global balance of power.

The only reason Stella had not yet reported the matter back home was because she considered the possibility that the League had some unavoidable reason for keeping it secret.

There was also another practical concern.

A small nation like Vermillion would have great difficulty surviving if it openly broke with the League.

So Stella planned to wait until the Seven Star Sword Art Festival ended.

Then she would personally negotiate with the League first and decide what to do based on their response.

But remaining rational did nothing to lessen her anger.

"What is this power called?"

Stella asked Luke.

At first, she had assumed Luke probably did not know much more than she did.

He might come from a major country like China, but unlike Stella, he did not belong to its ruling class.

So there was no guarantee he had access to high-level intelligence.

But after their conversation just now, Stella realized that Luke clearly knew far more than she did.

Hearing her question, Luke had no intention of hiding anything.

The League would probably tell Stella before long anyway.

But before that, there was one thing he needed to confirm.

"Stella, can you still draw upon Desperado power right now?"

"Or more specifically, how much of the power you displayed during our match can you currently use?"

"Desperado… huh."

Stella frowned slightly.

As she thought, she carefully sensed the condition of her own body.

"This power… Desperado power."

"I can't use it as freely as I did during the match."

"No…"

"That's not quite right."

"I don't think I've truly entered that realm yet."

"The power I used at the end of the match was probably more like a temporary breakthrough dragged out of me because of you."

"I've obtained the qualification, but if I want to truly master it, I'll probably need more time to settle and accumulate."

After hearing Stella's explanation, Luke nodded in understanding.

Now he finally understood why he had managed to defeat her.

Truthfully, even Luke had found the final result somewhat strange.

The difference between a Desperado and a non-Desperado was enormous.

That did not merely refer to raw combat power.

It was a difference in realm, essence, and other far deeper aspects.

At the end of Luke and Stella's match, Luke had unquestionably been at a disadvantage.

If Stella had truly broken through into the Desperado realm, then with superiority in both raw power and realm, there should have been no reason for her to lose.

But if Stella had never truly stepped into that realm—Then everything made sense.

After confirming that, Luke also decided how much information about Desperados he should reveal to her.

For Stella personally, detailed knowledge about Desperados actually had little value.

If anything, it might hinder her growth.

Her path toward becoming a Desperado was somewhat different from the conventional path Luke followed.

Learning too much about ordinary Desperados might instead place unnecessary restraints on her talent.

So while Stella had yet to truly become one, Luke only explained the most basic information.

...

While Luke and Stella continued chatting—

Ikki's training was also progressing smoothly elsewhere.

"Ah! I lost again!"

Moroboshi collapsed to the ground after having his heart pierced, shouting in frustration.

"Damn it! I thought we had it this time…"

And he was not alone.

Seven people were scattered across the ground around him.

Apart from Shizuku, who was responsible for support and healing, every fighter helping Ikki train had fallen.

Their stamina had been drained away by the illusion-form Devices.

However, Ikki had carefully controlled his strength.

None of them had lost consciousness.

With a little rest and Shizuku's treatment, they would soon be able to begin another round.

They truly had given it everything.

Eight people had attacked Ikki continuously.

Every single one of them fought at full strength.

And even then—They still could not defeat him.

Ikki had not even used Ittou Shura.

Simply applying its principle to concentrate mana along his blade for defense-breaking and parrying had been enough to contend with all these powerful fighters at once.

His strength could only be described as terrifying.

"Moroboshi-senpai, Touka-senpai, everyone…"

"Thank you."

"Being able to improve even a little before fighting Luke means a lot to me."

Ikki was not exactly in good condition either.

No matter how one looked at it, fighting eight opponents at once was too much.

His greatest problem was his limited mana.

So throughout the battle, Ikki constantly tried to achieve the greatest possible effect with the smallest possible amount of mana.

Facing eight simultaneous attackers also served another purpose.

He wanted to simulate what would happen if he could not keep up with Luke's speed—And had to defend against attacks coming from every direction.

Being suppressed in mana.

Suppressed in speed.

Suppressed in stamina.

Putting himself into a position of absolute disadvantage, then searching for a way to counterattack.

That was the entire reason Ikki had chosen group combat training.

But something was still missing.

The most crucial piece had yet to appear.

Just as Ikki sank into thought, a gust swept in from the training ground's entrance.

Whoosh—!

A bitterly cold wind, almost like winter itself, washed over everyone present.

No.

That was not wind!

In the very next instant, everyone realized something was wrong.

What swept across them was not ordinary air—It was a freezing, razor-sharp sword intent carried by the wind!

"What are you idiots doing?"

"Lying around on the ground like that is pathetic."

The man who entered was none other than—Sword Emperor of Wind, Kurogane Ouma!

The moment Ikki saw him, a delighted smile appeared on his face.

But before he could greet him, Ouma spoke first.

"Don't misunderstand."

"I didn't come here to help you."

As he spoke, Ouma summoned his Device.

A sword intent like a raging storm swept recklessly through the entire training ground.

After losing to Luke, Ouma had once again grown from the self-transcendence he experienced during that battle.

Compared to the Ouma who had fought Luke—The difference was like heaven and earth.

Ouma pointed the tip of Ryuuzume directly at Ikki.

"Your defeat is already inevitable."

"So I have absolutely no interest in your pointless struggle."

"But…"

"If you intend to challenge that monster with such half-baked strength—"

"Then before he kills you, I'll break that dull blade of yours myself!"

…

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Chapter 466 - The Final Is About to Begin!