Part 12 All according to plan. As Deus Ex Machina’s train-whip rained blow after blow on Stella, who having discarded her sword was now standing still in the ring, the Puppeteer within, Reisen Hiraga, was assured of his victory. Indeed, it would be more accurate to say that he had been sure of his victory ever since the match had begun. When she had suggested that reckless penalty, luring Akatsuki’s members out into the ring, he had immediately realized that her intention was to get revenge for their past attack on Hagun Academy. Facing an uphill battle knowingly for the sake of her friends who were injured. Hehe, how beautiful. That good heart of hers is worth respect. That proud spirit and gentle soul was — —So easy to control. Funnily enough, he could sway her as he wished without the use of his threads. Only words had been necessary. Such a kind person, surely, could never sacrifice an innocent like Mikoto Tsuruya in order to further her own ends. Using Mikoto as a hostage, he would make Stella cast her sword aside and lose the will the fight—this had been the scenario written in his mind ever since the match began. And Stella had been ensnared by his plot. rDeus Ex Machina’s train whip strikes the ground again and again! Is Vermillion alright? The dust cloud being churned up is making the situation in the ring hard to see! Just as inexplicably, Vermillion let go of her sword just before Hiraga started his assault! Just what does she intend to do, letting go of her sword like that? TWhatever she intends, this situation is dangerous. The umpires around the ring seemed to feel the same way—they were looking for an opening to stop the match. Seeing the surrounding circumstances as they were, Reisen swung once more and then stopped. He had felt the sensation of the train striking flesh through the strings that ran throughout every cranny of the rubble giant. She could not have been dodging like she had previously. Thus, this much was enough. He had not intended to kill her, in any case. If the umpires saw Stella collapsed and splayed out on the ring floor, they would stop the match for sure. So he thought, and with him staying his hand the dust cloud began to dissipate. TThe dust settles... what has happened to Vermillion—!? The commentator seemed to be wondering whether she was alright, but stopped short—and in the next moment every spectator was agape in shock, the world standing still as they forgot to breathe. Why? Was it because of the copious amount of blood flowing from a hollowed-out crater in the ring? No. It was because of the one atop that pool of blood: though it flowed in rivulets down her head, Stella was unbowed, standing ramrod straight as she glared at Deus Ex Machina. rUnbelievable! Vermillion! She neither avoids nor defends, but takes that onslaught without moving from her spot! Her endurance is on a whole new level! The blows had shattered the ring and upturned the soil underneath, but Stella's endurance was such that she did not flinch at all. Even Reisen found himself flabbergasted. "You're stupidly tough. But this match has been decided, so why won't you lie down quietly?" His voice sounded a little bored. Stella cocked her head to one side. "Decided? What are you saying?" "What are you saying? Did you not drop your sword?" Yes. The match had been decided there and then. Stella could not do anything with Mikoto as his hostage. That was the scenario. But that was merely the conclusion that Reisen had come to after having measured Stella Vermillion as a knight. A little time passed before Stella seemed to nod her head in understanding — "You idi~ot." Her bloodstained face warped into a smile, mocking him from the bottom of her heart. Her discarding of her blade had not been a show of surrender in the face of Reisen's threats with Mikoto as his hostage. "I let go of my sword, my soul as a knight, only because I did not wish to cut a dog such as you down with it. A knight's sword is meant for honorable battle—my soul would never forgive it if I were to use it on a man like you. I didn't want to use this technique, since it requires the support of other people. But I'll show it to you as a special treat." As she spoke, everyone saw it, including Reisen himself. Something that up till now only a perceptive animal could see: the image of that crimson dragon of flame, towering over the rubble giant. As a manifestation of the aura of dominance that Stella exuded, it did not truly exist. But for the buildup of Stella’s magic to exude such a pressure enough to materialize such a vision at all, the technique could not be something pedestrian. "Since Tsuruya-san and the others are here, I will only use the flat of my sword. So go in peace—and to hell with you!" Stella took in a deep breath, and Reisen felt his pulse quicken sharply. His underworld-nurtured instincts warned him of danger—if she was allowed to finish what she was doing now, things would get ugly. He followed them without hesitation. "Marionette!" Through the cords of Black Widow that he had burrowed into Mikoto’s brain, he gave the order to use Satin Ice. This order was carried out swiftly, and thus controlled the eyes of Icy Laughter froze Stella solid. But the dragon’s pulse did not cease. Within that frozen coffin, crimson eyes blazed with a fury. The dragon roared. "Bahcimut Soul /" Then color fled from the world. No, it was beyond the ability of man to perceive color, not within this whirlwind of light and flame. Surging forth from Stella in every direction and none all at once it swallowed Deus Ex Machina, the marionette Mikoto, and at last the whole ring, stopping just short of the audience as an invisible wall halted its advance, before soaring upwards, searing through the skies in a pillar of glory. Twenty seconds passed—and when the burning light, so bright one could not gaze upon it, faded, there was nothing left. The ring itself had melted, its turf turned to ashes, its soil blasted and blackened, like the wastelands of a primordial earth. At ground zero, Deus Ex Machina looked much the worse for wear: its body of slurry and concrete had all but sloughed away in melting puddles, leaving naught but a charred skeleton of metal, which collapsed to the ground, clattering bonelessly as it did so. Part 13 Reisen noted the shallowness in his thinking ruefully as he fell together with the charred rubble. "My, my. This was a failure, huh?" That warcry, that power from earlier had enveloped the entire ring. If she had used it from the start, the match would have ended right there and then. In other words, had she so wished, she had the ability to one-sidedly end the match. She did not do so, however, and there was a single reason as to why: Bahamut Soul was too powerful. Its area of effect was not limited to the 100-meter-wide ring. It had the power to consume the whole Bay Dome, and even the surrounding ghost town. Such a thing should not have been used even in Illusory Form, since Illusory Form was only harmless to humans, but the uncontrollable heat from that technique would have completely destroyed the surroundings. In order to use it, she required the aforementioned 'support' in order to keep her power within the ring. Indeed, this was a technique that from its inception required the help of others. To use it in a battle that prided itself on honorable one-on-one combat was not her style. Hence, she had not relied on it, choosing to continue fighting without relying on the aid of others. But Reisen himself had flown in the face of that style, crossing the line by using Marionette in order to threaten her. The moment that had happened, this match had ceased to be a fight in Stella’s eyes: it had become pest extermination. Freeing her from the limitations of a duel... I definitely shouldn't have done that. He understood too well the reason for his defeat.
Just then, a shadow loomed over him. He looked up. Stella was looking down at him, her face silhouetted against the clear summer sky, the clouds all but having been blown away by the storm. Her eyes were filled with contempt, as though she had seen some sort of garbage. He knew well the reason why. Seeing his body, she must have felt disgusted. For that body of his that had collapsed on the ground was not that of a human. It was a robotic puppet made of metal and wood. Yes. The person named the Perriot, Reisen Hiraga, had never once existed. He was nothing but a puppet controlled by the most skilled Puppeteer in Rebellion. A man like that, who could casually take hostages in a public arena, would never take part in a fair fight, let alone show up in person at the venue. Stella seemed to have realized this somewhat as well. Her eyes bore no trace of surprise, only a certain distant coldness. "It seems that you are not an opponent who would dance in the palm of my hand. This is your win-" As he was about to give out some shallow praises, Stella crushed his blackened visage underfoot without hesitation. She had nothing to say to him, nor was she interested in hearing anything from him, and so she smashed him as one would an empty can. He was that insignificant a presence in her eyes. With that, there was only one person still standing in the ring. The fourth match of Block B, that had begun with the penalty Stella had suggested, was now ended. Part 14 TWhat... what should we call this? Just as we thought that Stella, having discarded her blade, was on the receiving end of a beating, being beaten back into a corner, the light she released literally incinerated everything in the ring, leaving naught but her still standing! Even the referee lost consciousness after being caught up in the thick of it! To think she had hidden such an ace! rI wouldn’t say she had hidden it, more that she hadn’t wanted to use it. rWhat might you mean? rLooking at that technique, Bahamut Soul, it is merely the full-power release of magic power at one's upper ceiling of instantaneous output. For the benefit of the non-Blazers in the audience, it was akin to yelling out loud—hence the low, unstoppable execution timing and its high power. However, the more this is so, the less easy to control it becomes. The proof of this is that the referees were caught up in the blast, and if not for the barrier that the mage-knights positioned in the stands erected around the ring, the audience, and even the entire Bay Dome might have been blown away. It’s an extremely dangerous technique. It is common sense among knights that such techniques that might affect bystanders should be restricted in their use. After all, they run counter to the essence of a knight—that those with power should protect those that do not possess it. I"So she used it because she had been pushed into a corner? TNo... that’s probably wrong as well. Shaking his head, Muroto gazed down at the figure of the victor within the charred, blackened landscape with something akin to awe in his gaze—for he had been able to discern the true reason behind Stella’s use of Bahamut Soul. rThat was probably just a test shot.T A test? What would she be testing? rThe strength of those organizing this festival—in other words, she was ascertaining if this Festival would or would not collapse if she were to exert her full power. .. .Really, what an outrageous young lady. This has to be a first, testing the steering committee like that. This was indeed the truth. Saving one’s strength out of concern for the surroundings and one's opponent was a habit that could only come of having been born with surpassing strength as Stella was. Having realized this, Nene Saikyou the Yaksha Princess had left her this advice: that just once, she should try discarding that concern at an early stage of the festival. TKuu-chan is at this Festival too. Her defenses aren't so weak that little kids need to worry or hold themselves back. And just as Nene had said, even Bahamut Soul, Stella’s momentary release of her full power, had been unable to harm anyone in the stands in the least. The moment she had used it, a number of Blazers had moved to weave layer upon layer of defensive barriers. Their swift movements caused her to realize that her concern was unnecessary. They were practiced enough that they could tide over a little recklessness just fine—as expected of the knights of Japan, who boasted of standing at the top of the League. But one thing was unexpected. "To think that you were the first to make a move, Ouma." Among those layered defenses, the swiftest had been the wall of wind that the Sword Emperor of Wind Ouma had conjured to blast Bahamut Soul up into the air. What were his intentions? While she could not claim to understand them, they did not leave her in a good mood. Was it because he had aided her? Was it because he had been able to perfectly seal her ability? Perhaps it was both. Thus Stella merely spared Ouma, who was looking down at her from the highest point in the stands, a single glance — Well, whatever will he, will be. —before turning away and departing the ruined ring slowly, her crimson hair billowing like a flame behind her. Part 15 "Good work. As expected of our country’s A-Rank Knight, to be able to withstand that level of power—that was truly splendid. I am much reassured to have a young man like you around." Within the topmost VIP room in a corner of the stands, Bakuga Tsukikage, the director of Akatsuki Academy, applauded the young man dressed in casual Japanese-style clothes next to him. His applause of course was in response to Ouma having defended the audience from Stella’s flames. "But as a participant, you should conserve your strength. Even if you had not make a move, Shinguuji-kun would have had it well in hand." Ouma did not even turn to face him as he replied. "What-ifs are annoying. It would hardly be interesting if she were to conserve her strength yet again by being tied down by pointless concerns." His razor-sharp eyes were fixed only upon the crimson knight below, and coincidentally, their gazes met as Stella looked up. A gaze like a keen blade, brimming with killing intent. Despite her bitter defeat to him before, her eyes had no fear in them—instead, the very spirit of confidence and strength shined from within. Seeing that, Ouma smiled in spite of himself. "How my heart sings." Her aura was different from before. She must have spent that one week most productively... ...In order to best me. That was good. The Crimson Princess had to aim for such heights. Her talent could never blossom if she merely tested herself against opponents of such low caliber as the Worst One. Defeating her meant nothing if she aimed so low. That was not the outcome Ouma desired. Look at me. Aim for me. This is , after all, also for your own sake.... Thus, though Mikoto Tsuruya had been aided by three members of Akatsuki due to Stella’s suggestion of a four-on-one match for the fourth match of Block B, Stella defeated them in one fell swoop. Having been caught up in the swell of her overwhelming might, the referee had lost consciousness and was thus unable to call the victor. But looking at the imposing form of Stella treading alone upon the seared land as she made for the gate, all present understood and believed that the victor, the one who had dominated Block B, was the Crimson Princess. This was a matter of course, for she had faced every member of Block B aside from herself and had defeated them all. She had only won her first-round battle, but in truth this victor equated to her topping Block B. This belief would become truth shortly. Yui Tatar a, whom Stella should have fought in the second match of the second round, was declared medically unfit to participate. Among the first match’s participants, Rinna Kazamatsuri declared that she intended to resign, while word was handed down disqualifying Reisen Hiraga for not having appeared in person. Thus, Crimson Princess Stella Vermillion became the first person to reach the semi-finals of the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival, getting there with but a single battle.
References 1. Tump upt Senben Junka, "Thousand-Petal Blossom Shield" 2. Tump upt Media, d t ): A large humanoid machine controlled by a pilot, common to the Japanese science fiction genre of the same name.
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