Chapter 109: A Pig Rooted by Cabbage!
"If you don't have any other moves, then let's end this here."
After seeing through Stella's swordsmanship, Shiro spoke with ease beneath her fierce assault.
The instant Stella heard those words, her vigilance rose to its peak. Her body, wrapped in a robe woven from flames, retreated backward.
But in Shiro's eyes, even that movement was still too slow.
He finally took his first step since the battle began.
In the next instant—
Clang—
Stella suddenly felt pain in her hand, and [Laevateinn] flew out of her grip uncontrollably before crashing onto the floor of the training field.
The spectator seats, which had still been somewhat noisy, suddenly fell silent. They had not expected the situation to reverse so drastically. In their eyes, Stella had still held the advantage, yet in the very next second, even her sword had been knocked away.
In a battle between swordsmen, one side's weapon being sent flying could only prove one thing.
A complete suppression of skill.
Stella clearly understood that as well, and she froze in place.
Both of them were A-Rank, yet the man before her was several times stronger than she was. Even after using all her strength, she had not managed to force him back.
A sense of powerlessness she had not felt in a long time wrapped around Stella's heart, making her unconsciously clench her fists.
"This match is my loss. I never expected that in a contest of swordsmanship, I wouldn't even have the right to make you use your full strength."
After a long while, Stella looked at Shiro and spoke.
As one of the fighters, she could feel it very clearly. Shiro's physical ability was extremely absurd, but when fighting her, he had not even used a tenth of it.
At this moment, beneath her fiery red hair, flames of anger burned fiercely in her eyes.
That was frustration toward her own incompetence.
She picked up her Device from where it had fallen into the ground and pointed it toward the sky.
"But I still have one final move."
Stella had already acknowledged Shiro's strength. Even so, she would surpass him one day, no matter how much unimaginable time it took her.
And now, Stella would show him everything she had.
"Heaven-and-Earth-Searing Dragon King's Flame..."
Along with Stella's words, the flames on her sword swelled dramatically. A massive red pillar of light, like the blazing sun, rose into the sky and pierced through the roof of the training field.
"Hey, that amount of magic power... Run!"
"Why are we getting caught up in this just from watching?!"
The enormous magic power made the entire training field shake. Broken stones continuously fell from above, and the students who had come to watch scattered in fear, afraid of being caught in Stella's overwhelming ability.
"Katharterio Salamandra!"
Stella swung the hundred-meter-long blade of light down toward Shiro.
It was a light of destruction capable of annihilating everything. In order to express her respect for Shiro, she had already poured all her strength into this attack.
"Her magic power suddenly increased a little... I see. So you are one too."
Facing the dazzling pillar of light, Shiro smiled for the first time in the battle.
Even though it was only a trace, Shiro had still noticed it.
That was the increase in the upper limit of magic power that would only appear in a Desperado.
"In that case, I'll let you see it too."
With the powerful body of an adventurer and that absurd Abnormal Resistance, he could withstand this attack without injury. But without a doubt, doing that would be disrespectful to Stella as a swordsman.
Since she had shown such sincerity, Shiro naturally had to defeat her openly and honorably as well.
His figure suddenly vanished from where he stood.
Rip—
The red pillar of light that had been advancing through the air was scattered by something, turning into countless points of light that vanished between heaven and earth.
A faint sound of wind reached Stella's ears.
In the next second, her vision went black, and she lost consciousness.
"That's it. Winner, Torajirou Shiro!"
Even though there were not many people left around, Kurono still maintained her role as referee and announced Shiro's victory.
"Director, what sword technique was that just now...?"
Ikki stared seriously at Shiro, who was holding Stella on the field, his brows tightly furrowed. A swordsman's intuition told him that if Stella had been replaced with him, his result would probably not have been much better.
Even as a spectator, he had only seen one corner of that swordsmanship. The sword just now had been far too astonishing.
However, after receiving no answer, Ikki turned his head and saw Kurono wearing the same tightly furrowed expression as him.
"That sword... I would never mistake it. Even though it still has some flaws, that sword was definitely... [Twin-Wings]."
…
After the battle ended, medical staff came over and took Stella from Shiro's arms, placing her on a stretcher and carrying her toward the infirmary.
"Kouhai!"
Just as Shiro was about to return to the dorm, a teasing voice rang beside his ear.
In the next moment, a petite woman threw herself into his arms. Her soft white hand boldly slipped into Shiro's clothes and began feeling around.
"Wow, I haven't seen you in two years, and your body has gotten even sturdier~"
She wore a white kimono decorated with cherry blossoms as a base, with a fiery red haori draped over it. Her black hair scattered down to her waist, and on her head sat a red bow twice the size of her head.
"Nene? Why are you here?"
Shiro grabbed Saikyo Nene's restless hand and asked the woman who had suddenly appeared in the corridor.
"My, my~ You're yours truly's beloved kouhai, aren't you? Of course I had to be present for your first time at Hagun~"
Nene nestled against Shiro's chest like a little bird depending on someone, her phoenix eyes glancing upward slightly.
"How was it? Were you moved? Do you want to come to my room tonight and let yours truly teach you some 'special' lessons? You should be old enough now, right? It's time for your senpai to teach you how to become an adult~"
As she spoke, she even tugged the already ill-fitting kimono down slightly, revealing jade-white skin to Shiro's eyes.
However, when he heard the words "first time," his body stiffened a little.
Fortunately, although Nene had said since he was young that she would raise him up and then eat him, that had basically been a joke. How could anyone be interested in a little boy?
Probably?
Maybe?
Nene, who was pressed against Shiro's chest, clearly felt his body stiffen. A dangerous light appeared in her dark pupils, and she grabbed Shiro's collar.
"What's wrong, my beloved kouhai? Is there something you're hiding from your senpai~?"
In truth, when Shiro was young, Nene's talk about raising a Shota really had only been a joke. But ever since Shinguuji Kurono got married, Nene, as her lifelong rival, had developed curiosity toward romance.
However, she also understood that after stepping into the realm of Desperado, it was already impossible for her to have an ordinary, peaceful romance with a normal person.
And right at that time, she thought of her kouhai.
A natural-born Desperado. Good-looking. Fairly capable in a fight. He did not mind her strange personality, and he could even bicker with her from time to time.
Was this not the best possible partner she could ever meet?
And so, without Shiro himself even knowing, Nene had indeed been raising him as a future lover.
Otherwise, she would never have allowed him to keep calling her directly by name.
She had even prepared to drag Shiro over and show him off to her longtime rival.
Look! Isn't the person I chose far better than that bastard Takumi you picked? What nonsense about becoming a Desperado meaning you'd stray from human fate? I'm still doing perfectly fine, aren't I?
But now, the pig she had raised for several years had actually been rooted up by some cabbage from who knew where?!
Was pork that had already been rooted up still fresh pork?!
Thinking this, the slender hand clutching his collar tightened even further.
…
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