Gakusen Toshi Asterisk - Volume 10 - Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 
THE HIGHEST DISCIPLE 
The Room of the Black Tortoise in Jie Long Seventh Institute’s Hall of the Yellow Dragon: 
A vast, dimly lit space filled with row upon row of stone pillars—it was among the Ban’yuu Tenra’s—that is, Xinglou Fan’s—favorite training areas. The ceiling towered high into the distance, the earthen floor compacted firmly by the feet of its users. The room was lit only by the gentle lights installed on each of the stone pillars, making it impossible to see just how deep the space actually was. 
In the middle of that hall, two figures were squaring off. 
The first was Xinglou Fan, the master of the Hall of the Yellow Dragon; the other was her highest disciple, Xiaohui Wu. 
“Pò!” 
“Hmm…!” 
Xiaohui stepped forward, lunging out with a powerful strike, strong enough that, had it made contact, it ought to have thrown the body of his small opponent flying across the room. Xinglou, however, effortlessly dodged the blow. 
Even so, Xiaohui didn’t waste so much as a moment before spinning around, lashing out again with a wide kick. 
Xinglou leaped over the strike, but at that moment, just as Xiaohui put his fingers together in a kuji-kiri gesture, countless needlelike barbs erupted out of the ground around her, tearing into her body still suspended in midair—or so it had seemed. In the blink of an eye, however, she had completely vanished, as if into a shimmering wall of heat. 
“!” 
The next moment, the figures of five separate Xinglous appeared out of nowhere around Xiaohui, lunging toward him from every direction. 
Even so, his expression still betrayed no hint of emotion as he braced himself for the attack. 
Her kick, however, was so powerful that it caused a small crater to explode at his feet and left the air trembling around them. And she didn’t stop there; she leaped into the air once more and followed through with a series of further strikes, flowing from first one blow to the next. 
“…!” 
Xiaohui withstood them all, not yielding an inch, before countering with a kick of his own that managed to throw Xinglou higher into the air— 
But no. Xinglou, it seemed, had by her own accord leaped yet higher in reaction to the strike. 
She muttered something as she glided down, and a barrage of burning fireballs materialized around her, crashing toward him. 
Xiaohui dodged them all—so easily, it seemed, that his movements should have been impossible for a person of his large frame—before using one of the stone pillars as a launching pad to throw himself into the air as he lunged at his opponent. 
Xinglou moved to meet his attack head-on. 
“…No matter how many times I watch them, I still can’t really believe it…” 
“It’s beyond words…” 
Shenyun Li and Shenhua Li, watching the bout from across the hall, let out sighs of admiration. 
“Tell me about it.” Cecily Wong nodded in agreement. “Their martial arts are one thing, but the power of those seals and incantations—and without having to resort to using charms or anything like that, either… They’re both really something, right?” 
If Cecily, who led the Water sect, thought as much, there could be no doubting the two fighters’ skills in seisenjutsu. 
“But shouldn’t we get them to call it off? We do have a match coming up later today…,” Hufeng Zhao pointed out to the other members of his team. 
Today was, after all, the day of the semifinals. True, they still had practically half of that day to go before it got underway, but it wouldn’t do for Xiaohui to end up getting injured before it had even begun. 
“HAH, YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN GET IN THE MIDDLE OF THOSE TWO? I’D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY.” Alema Seiyng laughed silently, her words projected in a nearby air-window as she leaned against one of the room’s many pillars with her arms crossed. 
As far as Hufeng was concerned, Alema’s attitude was as irreverent as ever, but seeing as she wasn’t technically one of Xinglou’s disciples, he couldn’t really complain. 
“…Why don’t you go back to your room and get some rest?” was all he could respond with as he tried to find a diplomatic excuse to convince her to leave. 
In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that her bandage-wrapped body was completely riddled with injuries. That had been the result of the job she had carried out for Xinglou just the day before, so she hadn’t really had any time to rest and recover. 
“HAH, ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT ME? I GUESS I WILL—ONCE THEY’RE DONE,” she quipped with a grin. Her grit was nothing short of incredible. 
“By the way, Alema,” Cecily began. 
“Yeah? What is it?” 
It was clear from the casual way in which they spoke to each other that the two were on good terms. 
“How long have you been able to watch master and Elder Brother train with each other?” 
“WELL, I’M FREE TO COME AND GO AS I PLEASE, RIGHT?” 
The members of Hufeng’s Team Yellow Dragon had only recently been granted permission to observe Xinglou and Xiaohui’s training matches. Alema, on the other hand, appeared to have been able to do so for a while now. Hufeng felt more than a touch of jealousy at that fact. 
“It’s just that, doesn’t something seem different?” Cecily continued. “She doesn’t look like her normal self, you know, when she’s training with Elder Brother…” 
“AH, THAT…” Alema frowned. 
“Ah, we also thought—” 
“—that something was up.” 
The twins turned toward Alema. 
“She always looks like she’s having fun when she trains with us, right? But I don’t know, maybe it’s different when she’s with Elder Brother…?” 
“Isn’t it just that she can’t afford to let her guard down, seeing how strong he is?” Hufeng replied. 
Cecily bit her lip, as if she couldn’t accept that answer. “You can’t be serious, Hufeng? You’ve seen her—she always smiles whenever there’s a new challenger wanting to become a disciple, no matter how strong they are. If strength even comes into it, isn’t she the type to just get more excited the stronger her opponent is?” 
“Well… I guess so.” 
There was no arguing the point. Xinglou would probably be the happiest person alive if she could square off against someone stronger than her—the question was more that Hufeng doubted whether such a person existed. 
“Well, in that case, why…?” 
“…MM, THIS IS JUST WHAT SHE SAID, IN PRAISE, I GUESS. BASICALLY, ‘HE’S MY GREATEST FAILURE.’ OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT,” Alema said uncomfortably, averting her gaze as she scratched at her head. 
“Her greatest failure…?” 
That didn’t make any sense. 
Out of all her disciples, Xiaohui ought to have been her greatest masterpiece. As much as Hufeng hated to admit it, neither he nor Cecily, nor any of Xinglou’s other disciples for that matter, could compare. 
“WELL, I MIGHT HAVE SAID TOO MUCH. ANYWAY, IT LOOKS LIKE THEY’RE FINISHED, SO I’LL BE OFF.” 
When Hufeng glanced back toward the two, their bout did indeed seem to be over. The floor was gouged out in places, and several of the stone pillars lay collapsed, strewn around the room—but despite all that, neither Xiaohui, nor, of course, Xinglou, looked to have suffered any sort of injury. 
Hufeng let out a sigh of relief. 
“Huh?! Alema?!” Cecily called out. 
Hufeng spun around at the sound of her voice, only to find that Alema had already disappeared. She must have run off just as they had all turned their attention to Xinglou. As always, he had been completely unable to sense her departure. 
“Oh-ho… Here you are,” Xinglou greeted them, Xiaohui following along behind her. 
At that moment, they all fell to their knees in obeisance. 
“Master, Elder Brother, what a wonderful performance,” Hufeng, as their representative, replied. 
Xinglou flashed him a knowing smile. “Nonsense, Hufeng. You were all busy talking toward the end.” 
“Ugh! Th-that’s…!” 
Hufeng had no idea how she could have realized that, but there was no use trying to deny it. 
“Fret not. Truth be told, there was little to learn from today’s bout.” 
“M-master…?” Hufeng shook his head vehemently. 
Xinglou merely sighed. “It’s just a worn-out routine.” 
“…” 
He glanced toward Xiaohui, who merely stood behind their master expressionlessly. Hufeng could only wonder what he could be thinking. 
“More importantly, today you will be facing those children from Seidoukan. I’m looking forward to it. Don’t disappoint me.” 
“Of course not, master. We won’t lose.” 
“We’ll be sure to give you a match to be proud of.” 
The twins, their heads bowed meekly, were as cavalier as ever. 
“Hmph. I’m not interested in whether you win or lose. What matters is how you perform.” 
“Of course, we understand that. You haven’t given us any crazy orders this time, so without any restrictions on our strategies, we’ll definitely be able to make it a match to remember,” Cecily boasted. While maybe not to Alema’s extent, she, too, wasn’t the kind to shy around their master. 
“Oh-ho, then I shall look forward to it. Ah, Xiaohui, come and see me before you go.” 
“…Very well,” Xiaohui replied, his head bowed. 
With a passing glance toward him, Xinglou clicked her fingers, vanishing as if she had been, from the very beginning, no more than a cloud of smoke. 
 
“I’m terribly sorry for what happened. I’d like to apologize to you all once again,” Claudia said, head bowed, as her team members arrived at their prep room on the day of their semifinal match. 
The four other members of Team Enfield glanced toward one another at this extraordinary show of contrition. 
Ayato had been expecting Julis to come out with two or three more minor complaints in addition to those that she had delivered the previous night, but at this sight, all she could do was let out a nervous cough and put her hands to her hips. “W-well, it’s over and done with. Anyway, are you up to it?” 
“I think so. The healers at the hospital really are amazing. And we haven’t faced any penalties, either,” Claudia replied with a light laugh. 
Treatment from healers certainly was effective, but teams that relied on it during the Festa normally incurred some manner of penalty for doing so. In particular, if the injuries had been incurred during a Festa match, participants who received such healing could be disqualified from further competition. 
Nonetheless, for someone to even receive such treatment, their life had to be in danger anyway, so in such cases, there really was no other choice. 
“That said, I can’t say that everything is perfect…” 
The wound in Claudia’s chest was completely healed, but her other injuries, not to mention her fatigue, still remained. It would be an exaggeration to say that she was in prime fighting condition. 
“But still, I’m more worried about all of you. None of you overdid it yesterday, did you?” 
To be fair, while she might not have been at her best, he could say the same thing about himself and the others. 
Ayato had squared off in a bitter contest against Eishirou’s father, Bujinsai, while Julis, Saya, and Kirin had fought against both Shadowstar and the seemingly close-to-immortal members of the Yabuki clan. None had received any serious injuries, but the ordeal had left them all exhausted. 
Julis and Ayato were in particularly bad shape. Julis had gone all out with her abilities, while Ayato had been forced to break his seal. It wasn’t as bad as the first time he had done so—he could still move around, even if his body felt heavier than usual—but he didn’t know how well he would be able to fight in the upcoming match. 
“Well, we’ll just have to do what we can,” he said. 
Saya, standing beside him, nodded. “Right. What matters now is working out how to win today. So, Claudia… We need a strategy.” 
“Unfortunately,” Julis cut in with a downcast note to her voice, “we’re probably going to have a hard time standing up to Team Yellow Dragon like this.” 
“I understand. In that case…” 
“Ah! Um, before that…” Kirin, who until that moment had been waiting in silence, timidly raised her hand. “C-Claudia, is the… Is the Pan-Dora…?” 
At that question, they all turned toward her. Yesterday’s attack by the Night Emit—indeed, even the dream she had so catastrophically sought to make reality—could be traced back to that Orga Lux, the Pan-Dora. All five knew that. 
It wouldn’t be at all surprising if she was to want nothing more to do with it—in fact, that would be the most natural course of action. 
But Claudia merely shone with a composed smile as she unsheathed the Orga Lux’s activators from their holders at her waist. “Yes. I don’t blame this darling at all. And if we want to win, we’re going to need its abilities.” 
“If that’s what you think, I won’t try to argue with you, but still…” Julis looked as if she wasn’t particularly convinced. 
To be honest, Ayato thought the same way. No matter how extraordinary its abilities, the Pan-Dora was simply too dangerous. 
“Ah-ha, there’s no need to worry,” Claudia said with a soft laugh. “Given what’s happened, I won’t blame you if you don’t believe me, but for now at least, I want to try to understand how to get along better with it. I still don’t believe that I’ve been quite capable of drawing out all its power.” 

“…What do you mean?” Saya asked. “You think the Pan-Dora has another ability?” 
Claudia shook her head. “It’s just a feeling, that’s all.” 
“Come on. Stop playing around,” Julis interjected. 
“Anyway, there’s no need to worry about me. Even if something was to happen, I have all of you here to help me.” 
Claudia may have tried to pass that off as a joke, but Ayato knew she was trying to hide her embarrassment. She had changed, it seemed. 
“However, and I’m terribly sorry about this, but I only have around sixty seconds left in my precognition stock. I ended up using quite a lot of it to evade the Night Emit… So I only plan to use it to avoid attacks. That goes for our next match, too, of course.” 
The Pan-Dora was, by nature, better suited for defense than offense, as while it allowed its user to test possible outcomes through trial and error, the more complicated the course of events, the greater the number of opportunities that became available. 
“So what’s our strategy for the semifinal?” Julis continued. 
“Now, now, there’s no need to rush,” Claudia replied calmly before taking a swig of the drink she had brought with her. “Fortunately, we still have some time to spare, so why don’t we all take a breather first?” 
It was currently around noon. 
Their match had originally been scheduled for early evening, but seeing as the other semifinal match, which had been due to begin afterward, had been canceled, theirs had been moved back to compensate. That gave them more time to rest and ample opportunity to work out how to proceed. 
“Hmm… I guess I might be rushing into things a bit too quickly.” Julis sighed. 
“A-ah… Yes, let’s try to calm down first,” Kirin added, letting herself relax. 
There had been so much going on over the past day that they all still seemed somewhat on edge. 
“In that case, there’s something else I want to get out of the way,” Saya began, raising her hand. “Claudia confessed to Ayato, right? I want to know what happened next.” 
“Bffft?!” Ayato blurted. 
“What?!” Claudia exclaimed, almost spilling her drink. Her face turned red, and she had lifted both hands to her cheeks to cover them as she gasped for breath—before slowly turning toward Saya with a tremble. “Wh-what on earth are you saying?” 
Ayato had never seen her act this way before, and Julis and Kirin must have been just as surprised as he was, because they both stared at her suspiciously. 
“Well, if you think about what happened, if you think about why it happened, even Ayato ought to have realized it by now.” 
“Th-that’s true…,” Claudia murmured as she averted her gaze. 
There was something indescribably cute about the reaction. 
“Um, Saya… The thing is…,” Ayato began, trying to explain, when Claudia held out a hand to stop him. 
“Ah…” She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and put a hand to her chest, though her cheeks were still tinged red. “As far as I’m concerned, my thoughts were rather disorganized, and I wasn’t able to convey my feelings the way I would have liked,” she declared clearly. “Which is why, one day, I intend to properly tell Ayato how I feel. That’s all!” 
Saya gave a slow nod. “I see. That’s good enough for me… In other words, I still have the advantage. That’s a relief.” 
“I don’t know what to say… You really are impressive.” Claudia stared back at her in grudging admiration. 
“Feel free to praise me more often.” 
“No, I wouldn’t say that I was praising you, exactly… But oh well, I guess we can call it that.” 
“Come on, this isn’t the time to be worrying about that kind of thing!” Julis suddenly cried out, as if she couldn’t bear to listen to the two anymore. 
Julis’s flustered expression was so endearing it rivaled Claudia’s from a moment ago. 
The same went for Kirin, standing beside her. 
“Th-that’s right…!” she stammered. “Claudia, what about the match…?” 
“Ah, yes. In that case…” She pulled out her mobile and cleared her voice. “Let’s start with a simple analysis. To start with, all five members of Team Yellow Dragon are highly capable close-combat martial artists. However, because of that, they don’t place significant emphasis on teamwork. It seems they prioritize individual decision-making over group coordination.” With that, she opened five air-windows displaying the profiles of their opponents. “This isn’t to say that there’s no division of roles between them. The Li twins, whom Ayato and Julis fought during the Phoenix, effectively serve to support the other team members. It’s safe to say that their illusionary seisenjutsu techniques are extremely effective in team situations.” 
“Do you mean they’re supporting the others, even without coordinating?” Kirin wondered aloud. 
Claudia nodded. “Their techniques create opportunities that their team members can then use to their advantage. That said, it can’t really be called coordination.” 
“I see…” 
“That being the case, I’ll be the one to take care of those two,” Claudia declared. 
“Huh?” Ayato startled. “By yourself?” 
Certainly, the twins might not be as powerful as the others, but they were still formidable opponents. Ayato knew that from experience. Moreover, they excelled at controlling the conditions of the arena. They would be even more dangerous if they could afford to leave offense to someone else. 
“Of course, I’ll need Julis and Saya to support me whenever possible, but I’m the one best suited to take them both on.” 
“Best suited? What does that mean?” 
“It’s simple, really,” Claudia replied indifferently. “My personality is even worse than theirs.” 
Ayato didn’t know whether to nod along to that or not, but there was no denying that none of the others would be capable of seeing through their tricks the way she could. In that respect, at least, he and Julis had been completely bested during their encounter with them in the Phoenix. 
“However, Julis and Saya will also be facing Raigeki Senka and Tenka Musou as well, so you’ll both need to consider them as your highest priority,” Claudia added as she enlarged two of the air-windows. 
The first held a picture of Cecily Wong, a young woman with European features—a rarity at Jie Long—while the second was Hufeng Zhao, whom Ayato had met during the Gran Colosseo. 
The air-windows soon changed to recordings of a match. They had already watched it several times before, and so, Ayato immediately recognized it as the pair’s championship match at the Phoenix four years earlier. 
At that time, Cecily had yet to learn seisenjutsu, so the pair had fought with the kind of martial arts typical of students from Jie Long. 
In broad terms, Cecily excelled in power and Hufeng in speed. 
Even back then, Hufeng had moved incredibly quickly. 
“They’ve no doubt become much stronger since this recording.” 
“Hmm… We’ve no shortage of opponents, so why choose Saya and me?” Julis asked. 
“Are we well suited to facing them or something?” Saya added. 
“No, I’m afraid not. It merely comes down to the process of elimination.” 
Julis blinked in surprise at this admission, quickly breaking out into a deep frown. “What does that mean? You’d better not be playing around.” 
“There’s no hidden meaning behind it. We need you to hold those two down at all costs. Because you see…” Claudia paused there, turning to face their two still unaccounted-for members. “We need Ayato and Kirin to take care of the last one, Hagun Seikun… Although, I’m not sure whether even the both of you together will be able to beat him.” 
At this, the four all caught their breath. 
“…Right, Xiaohui Wu…,” Julis whispered. 
It went without saying that Xiaohui Wu was strong. Overwhelmingly strong. 
Ayato and Kirin were among the highest-ranked close-combat fighters in all of Asterisk, but there was every chance that even they, fighting together, might not be enough to defeat him. 
“B-but Ayato has the Ser Veresta,” Kirin pointed out as she stepped forward. 
“Right, that should count to our advantage,” Ayato added. “Xiaohui Wu and the other daoshi are basically just Dantes. They shouldn’t have any Orga Luxes of their own.” 
Stregas and Dantes were said to be ill-suited to using Orga Luxes. 
“And you said that Ayato undid his third seal yesterday. In that case—” 
“Ah, no, I mean… Doing that again will be…difficult.” 
Saya was talking about when he had repulsed Eishirou’s father, Bujinsai. Ayato had already explained it all to everyone, and he doubted he would be able to pull it off again. 
His sister, Haruka, seemed to have placed her seal on him in stages. Ayato had yet to satisfy the conditions necessary to release the last one fully—though he had a vague feeling that he was coming close. 
That being the case, he wanted to avoid breaking through the seal by force, as he had the previous night. 
He had probably only been able to do so then because he had been so desperate to save Claudia. The simple truth was that he didn’t think he would be able to open that door again under normal circumstances. 
“Ayato’s strength was indeed incredible when he did that… But it’s an uncertain factor. We can’t rely on it in our strategy.” 
“There’s no getting around that,” Julis muttered in agreement. 
“Anyway, Hagun Seikun will be their team leader, just like during their previous matches. In other words, we can’t win unless we can defeat him. So we’re all counting on you both.” 
“Got it. We’ll figure something out,” Ayato declared. 
“R-right! I—I’ll… We’ll do our best!” Kirin nodded in agreement. 
“Of course, this is just an outline of sorts, so make sure that you’re all aware of what the others are doing at all times and support them as necessary. As far as more specific coordination patterns are concerned…” 
And with that, the five spent the entire remainder of their time before the match preparing their strategy. 
 
“Mmm, delicious! There truly is no beating your tea!” 
They were within Xinglou’s private quarters, in a room situated in an elegant tower surrounded by a wide garden overflowing with flowers. 
Of all her disciples, only Xiaohui had been granted permission to enter this place—although that being said, no one else would even have been able to find it. The spaces within the Hall of the Yellow Dragon expanded and twisted in seemingly impossible ways, with this section in its deepest, innermost recesses being the most confounding of all. 
Outside, with autumn approaching, the air was becoming cooler with each passing day, but in here, it was a perpetual spring. 
And amid that suspended landscape was something that never failed to rekindle Xiaohui’s distant memories and make his heart ache. 
“Xiaohui, would you pour me another?” asked Xinglou, sitting atop a chair beside a window, her childlike legs swinging back and forth. 
“…As you wish.” 
Xiaohui, who until that moment had been waiting patiently behind her, gathered the tea utensils and began to prepare another cup. 
After giving it some consideration, he decided to brew a pot of Huangshan Maofeng tea. Xinglou’s tastes could be unpredictable; there were times when she would tell him directly what she wanted, and others when she would leave everything to him. Comparatively speaking, the latter tended to be more common. As if she expected him to see right through her and read her desires. 
Right, Xinglou only tended to put the bare necessities into words. 
That was why he was always at a loss as to what to do. 
What could he do to satisfy her? 
He was, after all, just a foolish, ignorant disciple, unable to answer that ever-pressing question. 
All he could do was pick out the tea that he thought would best suit her tastes at any given moment. 
“Sorry to keep you waiting, master.” 
“Oh-ho… What a splendid aroma.” Xinglou brought the cup to her lips, her eyes narrowing in contentment. 
There was no bitterness in that yellow-green tea. It was mellow in flavor, with a faint sweetness that he had suspected would please her current mood. 
“Now then… Xiaohui,” began Xinglou, turning her eyes toward him. 
“…Master? 
“I’m looking forward to your semifinal match,” she said tenderly. 
However, there was something behind her words that sent his brain turning. 
Of course, he would do the same thing he always did. No matter the situation, he always put everything he had into serving her. 
But he understood there was a deeper meaning behind her words. 
“I will put my very soul into it.” 
“…Hmm.” Xinglou nodded in apparent satisfaction before casually putting her fingers together in a symbolic gesture. 
At that moment, a streak of light ran through the center of the room, and as if it had been there all along, a space opened up before him. 
It was his prep room in the Sirius Dome. 
The other members of Team Yellow Dragon were all kneeling inside. Xiaohui turned to his master, placing his right fist in his left palm as a gesture of obeisance, before stepping forth to join them.