Chivalry of a Failed Knight Vol. 3

Hearing those words, relief washed over Ikki’s heart and he finally released his grasp on consciousness.

“Ikki…? Ikki, no! Wake up!”

His body hung limply in Stella’s arms. He was breathing, but very weakly. She knew at a glance that he was in critical condition. Even worse, she found that beneath his clothes, he was covered in blood. The several-hundred-times multiplication of his strength was something the human body couldn’t handle.

I have to get him to the infirmary!

“Stooop!”

Before Stella could move Ikki to safety, a barrel-shaped man blocked her path. It was Mamoru Akaza, his face dripping with sweat and no sign of sanity remaining in his bloodshot eyes. He had failed, and he would be made to take responsibility for his failure.

Promotion was out of the question; it was clear that he would instead lose his position. That realization caused panic to overtake the man, robbing him of the last of his logic. His one goal had become to cover up the result of his mission, so he brandished his Device, a hand axe, and approached the unconscious Ikki.

“Mhmhm! Wait just a moment there, Princess! Put that man down! He and I have a duel that we must attend to! You see, his planned opponent was not actually Touka Toudou—it was me! This is a man-to-man deal! Now, bring him over to me… Oh?”

Suddenly, Akaza lost sight of Stella, who had been standing directly in front of him. She had, unbeknownst to him, moved behind him.

No. It wasn’t that simple; she had actually slipped into the voids in his consciousness. It was the ancient style of walking, Void Step. For someone at Stella’s level, once she knew the basic principles behind it, it wasn’t overly difficult to replicate it.

She had escaped Akaza’s perception and carried Ikki past him, but not without knocking the barrel-man away with a backhanded blow.

“Hngaaaaahhh?!”

Akaza was thrown like he had been hit by a truck, flying through the blue gate, then bouncing over and over, like a rubber ball, into the middle of the arena.

“Whoa! There’s an old man in the ring!”

“The hell’s he doing? I feel like I’ve seen him before.”

“Look at his spine! It’s not supposed to bend like that, is it?”

“Eww, look at him spasming! Gross!”

“Is he alive?”

Stella heard some commotion coming from the stands, but she didn’t pay it any mind. She was already on her way to the infirmary to have Ikki treated by a doctor. Even the face of the man she had just smacked into oblivion had already disappeared from her mind.

◆◇◆◇◆

An hour after the match, Touka finally recovered from the shock to her consciousness caused by the breaking of her Device, Narukami.

“Finally awake, Touka?”

“Do you feel all right? Hurt anywhere?”

She was lying in a bed, watched over by Utakata and Kanata. The sight told Touka everything she needed to know.

“Oh. Guess I lost, huh?” There was a gap in her memories beginning at the moment she swung her sword; the moment she fell did not exist within her mind. However, when she saw her friends’ consoling looks, it wasn’t hard for her to guess what happened. “And here I thought my Raikiri was unbeatable.”

“Master Nangou thought so too.”

“Master? Was he there?”

“Yep. Right, Kanata?”

“Yes. Since the battle was open to the public, he came to watch you fight.”

“He was really proud of you! He even said that was the most beautiful Raikiri he had ever seen.”

…Really?

“If Master thinks so, then I guess I wasn’t mistaken in thinking so myself.”

She had used every last ounce of her power, yet Ikki Kurogane still surpassed her. Something still bothered her about it.

Kurogane moved even faster in that moment. In the space of a second, he had forced his limits to grow for the sole purpose of defeating Touka. She thought she had always kept aiming higher, but she realized that it was nothing compared to what Ikki was doing. The Worst One wasn’t just fighting against desperate odds in their duel, he was doing so every day. And every time he did, he continued to evolve. Perhaps her defeat had been a foregone conclusion. What an incredible person. Things won’t be the same next time, though.

The satisfying feeling left behind by Touka’s perfect Raikiri still lingered in her hands. That feeling taught her that she could still grow ever more. Someday, she would close the gap between them. Someday, she would surpass him. She would chase after him at full speed until the day they fought again, when it was her turn to challenge him.

“So, Touka…”

“Hm?”

Utakata started to speak suddenly. He had an uncomfortable look on his face, but when pressed, he asked his question.

“Should I call everyone at the Wakaba House?”

Oh. Right.

Touka remembered that they had gone so far as having made a banner for her. As difficult as it may have been, she had to let them know she’d lost. Utakata was willing to tell them in her place if the truth was too painful for her to tell, but regardless of the outcome, she had promised to go see them all after the selection battles were over.

“Thanks for worrying about me, but I’m okay. I should tell them myself.”

“You don’t have to act tough.”

Touka shook her head. She wasn’t acting tough. In her full-power battle with Ikki, she had given all she had. She wasn’t afraid to tell anyone about the Raikiri she had unleashed with so much resolve that she was prepared even to kill Ikki for her victory. She had nothing to be ashamed of.

“I’ll go home with pride in my heart.”

She would tell them about how she had fought a truly incredible knight.