Chivalry of a Failed Knight Vol. 1

“Hm? You know my name?”

“Of course I do. Everyone in the school knows the name of Japan’s rep in last year’s Olympics, the Demon Princess of the KoK A-League.”

KoK stood for King of Knights, a fighting competition between Blazers. As the biggest sporting event in the world, its broadcast rights cost over three trillion yen. There wasn’t a single student knight who didn’t know one of the stars of the A-League, known for being the strongest active Blazer in the Asia-Pacific region. She lived a rather debauched private life as well, so Nene Saikyou was often the topic of talk shows and tabloids—not that Ikki could mention that to her face.

“But why is an active pro like you here?”

“I just had to meet you, of course, Ikki Kurogane.”

“Me?”

“Yeah! See, Kuu—that’s Kurono Shinguuji to you—has had her eye on you for a while. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see why there was so much fuss over a Rank F.”

“Um, doesn’t this school forbid visitors?”

“That’s not a problem. Kuu’s been firing useless people left and right, so she’s having me help out here and there. I even have a teaching license.”

“Oh, gotcha.” Ikki knew that Kurono had been restructuring after the old director’s departure, so he got the point pretty quickly.

“And while I’m at it, this little cougar has been looking for some cubs to chow down on. Oh, but I’m not supposed to say that. Forget it.”

“I-I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.”

“Heh. I like thoughtful boys like you. Even better when they’re brave. Every battle until the end of middle school is fought in Phantom Form, so there are a lot of brats who wet their pants when it’s time to press the button and go into a real battle.” A real battle inevitably meant bloodshed. In Ms. Saikyou’s KoK league battles, it wasn’t rare for someone to lose an entire arm or leg. An iPS Capsule could fully heal wounds like that, but the sight of a limb being severed from someone’s body was still a gruesome one. No doubt it would be enough to scare off even the boldest of new students. “And you didn’t wait for even a second. Damn, kid.”

“I’ve been ready for this ever since I decided to be a Mage-Knight.”

“Sometimes, it’s only human to wet yourself even when you’re ready. I guess that’s why Kuu is so interested in you. And now that I have the chance to get a closer look at you, you do have a pretty face. What do you say, boy?”

The distance between Ikki and Ms. Saikyou suddenly dropped from six feet to zero.

“Huh?” Ikki was shocked by her unnoticeable approach. She leaned into his chest affectionately, turned her eyes up toward him, and spoke with seduction in her voice.

“So? How about a special lesson in my room tonight?”

“What are you doing to my student?” came a threatening voice from behind Saikyou. It was Kurono Shinguuji, wearing her usual suit.

“Whoa, you scared me! C’mon, Kuu, you can’t just sneak up on people like that. I could’ve killed you!”

“Not on your life. Besides, what do you think you’re doing here? You’re supposed to be doing analysis at the fourth training field.”

“Aww, yeah, but that battle was so boring that I went to pick some flowers instead. On my way, I decided to check out your little fave.”

“H-He’s not my favorite anything!” Kurono looked a little embarrassed—a rare expression for her—as she punched Ms. Saikyou in the back of the head. “Sorry this pervert ruined your focus, Kurogane.”

“I-It’s fine. I was just a little surprised.”

“I’m taking her back now, so just ignore her nonsense. Now come on, you walking public indecency!”

“Okay, okay! Just stop pulling on my kimono! Do you know how much this cost meee?!” Ms. Saikyou screamed as she was pulled away.

He could have left it at that, but instead, Ikki made a final, bold statement.

“I’ll have to pass on your offer. Tonight, I’ll be busy celebrating my victory with some friends.”

“Heh! Well, if you’re busy, that’s just how it is. Damn shame. Just put on a good show for me in the battle, then! I’m the queen of watching boys fight!”

One tiny finger pointed out of her too-large sleeve as she giggled toward Ikki. Her tengu geta clogs lightly tapped against the ground as she left with Kurono.

I can’t tell how much of that was serious. She’s unreadable, Ikki thought, but he’d experienced firsthand that she was incredibly strong; someone getting so close to him so easily was a completely new experience for him. How was she so stealthy when she leaned into me? Maybe it’s some sort of special movement method from an ancient martial art. Not that I know how to replicate it, but…

“Oops. I should get back to focusing on the battle.”

A method to move closer to someone you’re making eye contact with, without them noticing. It was an interesting trick, but Ikki wouldn’t be able to put it into practice immediately, so he left it alone. An important fight was waiting for him, after all. Renewing his focus, he stepped into the waiting room.

The room had some lockers and sofas, along with a full-length mirror. Apart from those things, the room was empty—drab, even. But in the back of the room stood an imposing door, small as it was. Behind that door was the stage where Ikki would make his debut.

I’ve finally made it.

The first step on his long journey to become the Seven Stars King. So much had happened along the way; he had lost so many things—family, friends, time—but it was his eternal resolution that led him to the day, the moment he’d been so desperate to reach.

His battle with Kirihara was waiting just beyond that door. Would everything he’d worked so hard for be given meaning? Or would it be proven a waste? A single moment that would answer that question.

Thump.

“Huh?”

At that moment, all too abruptly, Ikki’s heart leaped.

Wh-What the…?

His field of vision began to sway. As though paints that had mixed with water, colors blurred uncomfortably. What had happened inside him? What was happening inside him? He didn’t know. He didn’t know, but his throat was horribly dry.

Water. I need water! Ikki tried to open the cap on his water bottle, but his hands moved so unsteadily and unpredictably that he dropped the bottle. The cap rolled away, and water covered both the floor and his shoes. I should wipe that up. But with what? And why? Ugh, my throat…

“First-year, Ikki Kurogane. Second-year, Shizuya Kirihara. It is time to begin your battle. Please enter the arena.”

“Gah?!”

The announcement snapped Ikki back to reality. When he looked at the clock, twenty minutes had already passed.

Didn’t I come early? How long have I been standing here? Am I really that nervous? Calm down. Calm down. Ikki tried to soothe himself and regain some control over his heartbeat.

He had already memorized everything about his enemy’s technique. The strength of his arrows, the angles they came from, the directions he moved in—Ikki had analyzed it all. He even knew of a way to break through Area Invisible. After running through so many simulations, he was ready to move his body to react to any possible event.

Just do what comes naturally, and it’ll all work out. Win, and it’ll all work out. Win, and you’ll be rewarded for all that you’ve endured so far. And it won’t all go to waste!

Trying desperately to soothe his raging heartbeat, Ikki opened the door to the arena.

◆◆◆

“Our third match has ended, and now, we arrive at today’s fourth! Just look at how full the stadium is! I guess nobody wants to miss this match! Once again, it’s Tsukuyomi on play-by-play and Ms. Nene Saikyou on analysis for today’s match!

“Now, let’s introduce our most interesting contestant! At the top of his class, he made it to last year’s Seven Stars and even won his first battle in a one-sided victory against a third-year student from Bunkyoku Academy! He never breaks a sweat when he wins a match. Known also as ‘The Hunter’, he has never taken a single hit in any of his official or inter-school matches! He’s a prime candidate for a repeat trip to the Seven Stars! It’s second-year Shizuya Kirihara!”

Kirihara raised his hand as the host introduced him. Shrill cries arose from the audience.

“That’s Kirihara for you,” Tsukuyomi continued. “His good looks have the girls in the audience falling for him!”

“I like wild boys a bit more,” Ms. Saikyou said.

“Nobody asked you.”

“Really?”

Likely due to her abandoning her post, Tsukuyomi treated Ms. Saikyou with complete disregard.

“And then, we have the Rank F knight who’s here to face off against him! But don’t underestimate him, now! All of you here may already know this, but he’s not just any Rank F! Ikki Kurogane defeated the Rank A Crimson Princess, Stella Vermillion, in a mock battle! Is his strength the real deal, or is he really just the Worst One?! His mysterious power level will be made clear to the world today! It’s first-year Ikki Kurogane!”

With his introduction complete, Ikki greeted the audience.

So many people…

Ikki had never had so many people watch him fight. It made it even harder for him to stay calm. His body and mind seemed distant, as if he had stepped into someone else’s body. Fog seemed to gather at the edges of his consciousness, making it difficult to think clearly.

“I didn’t think you’d actually show up.” Kirihara spoke to Ikki, who was still trying to make sense of his own mental state. “Especially after you ran away from that battle I so kindly offered you last time.”

“That was a different story.”

“Really now? Well, I don’t care. But now that you’re here, I guess that means you’re ready for what’s coming to you.”

“There’s no point in wasting our breath on this. Come to me, Intetsu.”

“Fair enough. The hunt begins, Oborozuki.”

After a short exchange, the two took their starting positions and materialized their respective Devices. Ikki held a black blade in his right hand, while Kirihara held a green bow in both of his.

“Now, our fourth battle of the day begins!”

The curtain was raised, and Kirihara instantly disappeared.

“He’s already at it! Area Invisible! Kirihara can no longer be seen with the naked eye!”

“What an annoying ability. You can’t even fight him without wide-area attacks.”

“Right. In the first round of the Seven Stars Battle Festival, Kirihara fought a third-year from Bunkyoku Academy. His opponent was a one-hit wonder kind of guy with no wide-area attacks, so he won an easy victory. Does Kurogane have any wide-area attacks?! This may be the biggest factor in deciding the battle!”

Hunters hide within the trees, shooting their arrows from the shadows. It was nearly impossible to track such a well-hidden enemy, and with Ikki unable to stop his arrows of light, a sudden attack from his blind spot should have been able to hit him square in the back.

Should have been.

“There!”

“He knocked the arrow away! Kurogane has repelled an attack from an enemy he can’t even see!”

“That’s not all, Tsukki. Watch.”

As Ms. Saikyou had anticipated, Ikki hadn’t just swatted away an arrow in his blind spot. He quickly swiveled 180 degrees and dashed toward what appeared to him to be an empty space, when an arrow flew from the direction he was facing. Kirihara may have been invisible, but his arrows weren’t.

I can figure out his location from the direction and distance of his shots. That’s Area Invisible’s weakness!

By paying attention to where an arrow first had appeared, it would be possible to find the shooter’s direction, and his distance could be calculated based on the force behind it. That was Ikki’s strategy to defeat Area Invisible.

“Take this!”

He swung Intetsu where he expected the invisible enemy should have been, but his blade didn’t seem to strike anything. Instead, a scrap of clothing appeared out of thin air.

“Whew, that was close. You’ve got surprisingly good concentration to be able to knock away my arrows and even find my location just from a single shot at your blind spot. Is that what they call the ‘mind’s eye’?”

“It’s not that big a deal.”

Ikki’s humble voice was directed nowhere in particular; he was simply replying to the voice that had no source. But despite his modesty, he could feel confidence welling up in his heart.

It’s working!

He hadn’t expected his concentration to be broken before the fight, but his plan to counteract Area Invisible was still working perfectly. Ikki just had to catch Kirihara. With that resolution, he focused deeply to prepare for the next shot.

“Ooh, that’s a scary look. That’s not how you should look at a former classmate at all.”

“Maybe not, but this is a duel.”

“Heh. Does that mean you actually plan to win this battle?”

“I wouldn’t be here unless I did.”

“Heheh. Hahaha! I guess you’re right. I thought you’d have learned your place in the world after flunking last year, but it looks like there’s no cure for stupid. You haven’t changed at all. It’s honestly disgusting.” Kirihara’s voice was tinged with murderous intent.

Expecting him to have his second arrow ready, Ikki honed his focus in order to respond to its angle of fire and stretched his perception.

“If you’re so disgusted, then just keep shooting. Shoot, and I’ll knock every one of your arrows away.”

After taunting him, Ikki resumed concentrating on the next attack. He was ready to activate Ittou Shura the moment he perceived an arrow; he wouldn’t give Kirihara a chance to escape. His next attack would decide the battle.

“Heh. That’s the spirit. Yes, you are incredibly skilled with the sword; I’ll give you that much. But cheap tricks like yours only work in the world of talentless garbage. Blazers are the chosen new breed of man, and we fight with our special abilities! Do you really think a Rank F, someone only slightly better than pure trash, could ever hope to defeat my Area Invisible?”

“I’ll never know unless I try.”

“True, true. Then just try!”

A hole appeared in Ikki’s right thigh, spewing blood.

“Ah!”

He hadn’t expected that. Searing pain spread through his thigh, as if a hot iron had been pressed into the wound.

“Guah!” He let out a cry of anguish, but he was almost more surprised than hurt.

What happened?!

Ikki was supposed to be able to respond to any attack with his honed focus, so how could he have been injured so easily? He looked down at the hole in his thigh, barely able to keep his hold on the reins of his panicked mind, to see a droplet of blood. It appeared to be suspended in midair, almost as if it was stuck to something invisible. He grabbed at it and felt a long, thin, solid object that was infused with magic.

“No way…”

Ikki’s worst nightmare had become a reality.

“Looks like you’ve guessed it! This year, my Area Invisible works on my arrows as well. Get it? Now, you won’t even know I’ve shot an arrow until it hits you!”

◆◆◆

“This doesn’t look good,” Alice said, worriedly furrowing her brow.

“No. Big Brother had based his battle plan on using Kirihara’s arrows against him, but now the whole plan is ruined. If he can’t see the arrows coming toward him, then forget about fighting back; he can’t even defend himself.”

“Well, Kirihara is a former Seven Stars rep. His ability is crazy enough that he’s able to perfect both offense and defense.”

“That can’t be!” Stella interjected sharply.

“Stella?”

“Sure, Area Invisible is pretty much a cheat code. I’m surprised at how strong it is too, but that’s not the issue! The real issue is that Ikki is acting really weird!”

“He’s… acting weird?”

“Yeah! Why didn’t he just jump in when the battle started?! He knew the enemy would disappear, so he should have attacked when he knew Kirihara would still be in the spot he started the battle from!”

“Didn’t you learn anything from your fight with those terrorists?” Shizuku sighed in annoyance. “Leaping into battle against an enemy Blazer is suicide if you’re not prepared, and Big Brother’s style is to study the enemy. That’s how he beat you, after all.”

“No,” Stella shook her head in response. “You’re not entirely wrong; Ikki does study the enemy, refining his method until he can win, but this guy just turns invisible! How long is he going to waste his energy fending off invisible attacks?!”

Shizuku gasped when she heard those words, having come to the same realization. He was too nervous; the pressure of trying to prepare for every single shot, coming from anywhere at any time, was too great.

Ikki was wasting too much energy. For a fight against someone like Kirihara, a battle of attrition was the worst possible plan. Instead, mowing down the enemy at the start of the battle—when his position was known—was easily the best option.

“So why…?”

Stella gritted her teeth in anger and confusion until Alice answered.

“It’s not that he didn’t do it; it’s that he couldn’t.”

“That can’t be right! Ikki’s not some idiot that can’t make such a basic assumption!”

“That’s just how nervous he is; he couldn’t even make that basic assumption.”

“No way! He wasn’t nervous at…” The last word of Stella’s sentence caught in her throat. Was he nervous, after all?

“I’m going to win.”

Come to think of it, he had seemed a little off yesterday. Ikki wasn’t the type of person to act so confident before a battle, was he? At least, he hadn’t been like that before his fight with Stella.

“C’mon. You won’t know until we try.”

Even when he was aiming for victory, he never forgot just how dangerous such fights were. Maybe his words were those of a boy who was desperately trying to forget his own failures and the pressure he faced.

“It looks like you know what I mean. But don’t blame yourself for not noticing it, Stella. After all, he didn’t even notice it himself.”

“He didn’t?”

“Ikki is so used to being hurt that he can’t hear his own heart screaming for help. But think of how much he’s had to suffer through to make it to his first official fight. Even if he seems to be acting normal, can you really call it normal at that point?”

Just how much Ikki had to suffer through?

Stella couldn’t deny it any longer. Understood by nobody, supported by nobody, Ikki spent a full year of his life being laughed at. No, perhaps even longer; he endured years of hardship because he believed his chance would eventually come.

But that chance was also a trial that would test his very being. If he lost, it would all amount to nothing. He would be forced to realize that he had wasted so much of his life. And worst of all, his current opponent was one that he could call his natural enemy.

Of course he’s nervous. The endless rows of spectators only added to the pressure. Ikki couldn’t be normal. If he seemed normal, it just meant he was holding back his emotions beyond reason. Why didn’t I notice? I was closer to him than anyone.

It was too late to regret it. Just as Alice had feared, Ikki’s accumulated stress was erupting all at once.

“Now, without Kirihara’s arrows as a guiding light, Ikki’s fangs won’t be able to reach The Hunter, who’s hidden in the dense forest. You two should get ready for the horror that’s to come. This isn’t a battle anymore—it’s a hunt.”

◆◆◆

“This is awful…” Tsukuyomi said in a tense voice.

Ten minutes had passed since the start of the duel. In the arena, Ikki was barely standing, using his sword for balance. His arms and legs were covered in blood. Ever since Kirihara had made his arrows invisible, Ikki couldn’t regain the upper hand. The only reason the battle hadn’t ended was that every arrow struck an arm or a leg, intentionally missing his vital regions. Was it mercy?

Absolutely not. Everyone who saw what was happening knew the truth: The Hunter was making a mockery of his prey.

“Ms. Saikyou! There’s no point in letting this go on! You have to stop the duel, please! I can’t bear to watch this anymore!”

Tsukuyomi turned off her mic and beseeched Ms. Saikyou, who was sitting next to her, but her plea fell on deaf ears. Ms. Saikyou merely stared stone-faced at the arena, her playful mood seemingly gone. Unable to help, Tsukuyomi could only continue her play-by-play.

“Though Kurogane showed promise by deflecting Kirihara’s first arrow, the invisible arrows that followed have turned this battle into a one-sided affair. Kurogane hasn’t surrendered yet, though. Maybe he has some sort of plan…?”

Hah. Yeah, right, Ikki chuckled when he heard that. He had no plan. His countermeasure for Area Invisible was foiled with the second shot. I was foolish.

It was natural that Kirihara was way stronger than he was the previous year. Ikki realized that he should have just taken the match at the very start, before Kirihara’s stealth could help him. When he finally realized such an obvious truth, Ikki finally awoke to the fact that he was so damn nervous that he couldn’t keep his cool.

Looks like you were right after all, Alice. Maybe his nightmare had been the “cries of his heart” after all, but he just hadn’t heard them because he was too used to stifling them and acting strong. What resulted was to be expected; he couldn’t have been more pitiful. It’s too late to regret that, I guess.

What was he to do? What could he do? How could he catch the invisible Hunter?

“You’re still not giving up this late in the game? I’m not even disgusted anymore; I admire your grit.”

“If I could just up and surrender against this… I wouldn’t have repeated a year.”

“Sure. Sure, you’re right. In respect for your grit, I’ll give you a handicap. From here on out, I’ll tell you where I’ll shoot you next. See if you can dodge it that way. First, your left thigh.”

“Gah!”

“What’s wrong? You’re so slow to react. Right shoulder!”

“Ngh…!”

“Come on, at least try to dodge! Your right ear is next!”

“Argh!”

“You’re so dull, Kurogane! Where’s all that motivation from before? Get back to dodging! Left shoulder! Right thigh, right palm, calf, bowels, stomach! Liver! Kidney! Colon! Duodenum! Die, die, die! You’d better start dodging or you’ll die!”

“Graaaaah!”

With so many of his internal organs struck by arrows, Ikki fell to his knees.

“Hehehahaha! What a sickening disgrace! If only you could see your face right now, Kurogane! Come on, smile and keep trying. After all, you’ve got plenty of reasons to keep trying. Remember, your graduation is riding on this!”

“Huh?”

The crowd gasped at the sudden, ominous talk of graduation.

“H-Hey, what’s that about graduating?”

“Didn’t they say selection battles don’t affect our grades?”

“Seriously?! I only dropped out because they said it was just extra credit!”

“Oh, my apologies, everyone. I didn’t mean to mislead you all. You can relax, he’s the only one whose graduation rides on this. The Rank F knight, Ikki Kurogane, is so weak that he can’t even graduate normally! I heard the new director made an offer he couldn’t refuse: ‘Win at the Seven Stars and I’ll let you graduate’.”

He revealed the truth to everyone. The commotion in the training field ceased momentarily, until the entire crowd erupted into laughter.

“Hah… Ahaha! Hahahahahahahaaaah!”

“He can graduate if he wins at the Seven Stars? Get a load of that!”

“A Rank F could never be the Seven Stars King! The new director is one hell of a joker!”

“Did he actually believe her?!”

“Heheh! That’s what he gets for not knowing his place!”

“This guy just got wrecked in his first round, and he thinks he can be the Seven Stars King?! Gaaahahahah!”

Ridicule flooded the fourth training field. The Seven Stars King was the absolute peak of Japanese student knights. Historically, Kings were mostly Rank B, with the rest Rank C and the very rare Rank A. A Rank F failure, so far below average that he was out of sight, couldn’t crawl his way to the top. Common sense dictated that it was a joke at best.

“You’re all wrong! Kurogane is special!”

“Yeah! We saw it ourselves! He won against five armed Blazers with his bare hands!”

“And he beat that Rank A knight, Vermillion, too! Rank A knights are rare even among the Kings, so if he could beat a Rank A, he must be strong!”

Ikki heard certain voices among the ridicule. They were his classmates.

“Dumbass,” someone from the audience retorted, “you haven’t heard? Everyone on the internet is saying that video was staged.”

“You’re the dumbasses! Why would a princess help someone stage her defeat? Use your brains for once!”

“Yeah, right. That Rank F is from the Kurogane family. They’re one of the biggest Mage-Knight families out there, and they have the riches to show for it.”

“Yep! They wanted their son to have some dignity, so they paid off that backwater Vermillion Empire to set up the whole thing. It would be all over the news if he beat the genius knight for real.”

“Ah… Yeah, that’s true.”

“Even if it wasn’t, isn’t it even more unbelievable that a Rank F could beat a Rank A? I don’t know why you guys are trying to stick up for him, but maybe you’re the ones who should be using your brains.”

The classmates who stood up for Ikki were drowned out by the interrogation from the opposite side. It wasn’t long before the arena was filled with jeering.

“Trash that gets put on a pedestal by his family can’t be the Seven Stars King! Don’t make me laugh!”

“That trash doesn’t even belong in the presence of real knights!”

“Don’t bite off more than you can chew, Rank F! Stupid faker!”

“The Kurogane family staged that video to make their son look better”? That was a blatant lie. It was nothing more than bizarre fiction from an anonymous message board, set loose for the world to ponder.

Ikki’s family had hurt him so much. They would never do something like that, but even if they would, it was more than just stretching the imagination to think the Vermillion family could be bought off like that. Even so, that fiction, divorced from the truth as it was, had become truth to the crowd because it was a convenient belief for them.

Knight schools were mostly comprised of Rank E and Rank D knights. They were always looking up in awe at those who existed at the top, designated as geniuses. But Rank F knights, though rare, were people that they could look down on. It was as if Rank F knights existed solely to make them feel better about themselves. They needed people inferior to themselves to call them geniuses and deify them, never to surpass them. They didn’t want to face the truth—that an inferior had defeated a Rank A, someone they could never hope to defeat—so they painted a convenient fantasy as the truth, mocking the actual truth as they stomped all over it.

I can’t stand them…

Ikki clenched his teeth at their words. It wasn’t like he cared about their opinions or that he wanted them to accept him; he didn’t care what they said. What he couldn’t bear was hearing them speak poorly of Stella. He was angry that his cowardice had brought the very idea to their minds.

“Man, they’re all laughing at you. But that’s what you get. When you try to shoot for the stars, you’re bound to get some haters.” Kirihara continued to launch arrows at Ikki, who could barely stay on his knees. “Why don’t you just face facts? Even with your silly physical strengthening ability, you can’t do anything against my Area Invisible. That’s the basic truth. Your place in the world is decided at birth; hard work is worthless in the face of raw talent. It’s honestly disgraceful for a rat like you to try to show off. Don’t you agree, everyone?”

“Kirihara gets it!”

“Quit being such a disgrace! You’re making Shizuya look like a bully!”

“Give up, daddy’s boy!”

“You’ve got some balls for a complete failure! How long are you gonna keep being so disgraceful?!”

The crowd responded to Kirihara’s urging, their voices as daggers stabbing into Ikki. The pain coursing through Ikki’s body made him painfully aware of his powerlessness.

“Disgraceful”? Maybe they were right. He didn’t have any effective strategy to defeat Area Invisible. Kirihara’s sounds, scent, and even Kirihara himself were all completely hidden from Ikki, who had already lost his one chance to attack. I have no idea how to defeat an enemy like him. The only reason I’m still standing is because of sheer willpower. Whether I lose by exhausting that willpower or by surrendering, I’ll lose all the same. There’ll be a loss on my selection battle record either way, so rather than putting myself through any more of Kirihara’s torture, I might as well—

“SHUT UUUUUUUP!”

As Ikki’s heart began to lean toward weakness, a scream seemed to tear the wave of insults in half. Everyone looked in the direction of the scream.

Stella.

It had come from the Crimson Princess, her eyes burning with rage as sparks flew around her.

◆◆◆

“Stella…”

Both Shizuku and Alice were shocked by her actions, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t hold back anymore. She seemed to spit fire as she yelled at the spectators with a fiery gaze.

“Who says a Rank F can’t beat a Rank A? That’s just some stupid grading scale you idiots made up for yourselves! You think you can’t beat talent no matter how hard you work, but that’s just you justifying your own apathy! You’re all free to give up for whatever stupid reasons you want, but don’t you dare use them to try to deny Ikki’s strength!”

That was the one thing she couldn’t abide by. Ikki may have been unluckier than anyone else here, but he never gave up! He always kept fighting! He kept believing in his own self-worth despite people saying that he was worthless because he didn’t believe “talent” was an insurmountable wall. And in his impossible struggle, he had finally found it: his one minute of power that could surpass any amount of talent.

Whenever Stella closed her eyes, she could still see the splendor of his soul. There had never been a moment in her life in which she thought someone else was so strong; in which she admired someone else so much. She knew just how incredible a feat that was.

“Talent is just one small part of what makes us who we are,” she continued. “But you all are clinging to talent alone, blinding yourselves to Ikki’s strength! You can’t even begin to understand him! Don’t make fun of the knight I love just because you think you get him!”

“Stella…”

Struck by Stella’s honest, heartfelt words, Ikki’s head snapped up.

His expression made her heart throb in pain. It seemed so frail, ready to give way at any moment. That was to be expected, though. Just like Stella, Ikki was still at an age that could be considered childhood. No matter how brave a face he put on, no matter how he tempered his willpower, his heart wasn’t made of steel. Insults wounded him, and injustice damaged his heart. That damage would continue to torture him as long as he continued to walk the path he’d chosen. Perhaps losing and being forced to give up would have been better for him in the long run, but…

“Stop looking so pitiful! You said you’d never give up on yourself, Ikki, no matter what anyone said! I thought we could aim higher than ever together! So don’t give up just because those idiots talk down to you! I know I didn’t lose to a weakling! I looked up to… I came to love a knight named Ikki Kurogane, who always looked forward and took pride in himself! I want you to keep being the calm, cool man you are for me, you big dummyyyyy!”

Stella aimed for greater heights, and she wanted to make it there with Ikki. She put all of her feelings into that one scream—Ikki wasn’t the only one who believed in his own worth.

Pow!

Ikki slammed his fist into his own cheek.

“Wha—?!”

The crowd was shocked at the sudden bizarre act.

“Thank you, Stella,” Ikki said amidst the doubtful stares. “That was just what I needed.”

Slowly, powerfully, he stood up.

◆◆◆

On his feet once more, Ikki stared at the red-haired girl who had scolded him. A teardrop fell from her ruby eyes. He wasn’t dense enough to fail to understand who she was crying for, whose heart she was mourning, but even amidst all the pain, Stella was telling him one thing: “Fight on”. She accepted the difficulty and perils of his path, yet she wished for him to press on.

Nobody has ever told me that besides Ryouma.

He had thought that if he lost, everything he’d worked for would go to waste—that everything he was would be denied all at once, and he was afraid of that. But that was completely wrong. Sure, his goal of being a Mage-Knight may have been a distant one, but the time he spent working toward that goal wouldn’t go to waste.

I’ve found a girl who accepts my way of living!

When he realized that fact, he felt his body and soul intertwine, clearing up all his fear and nervousness at once. His wounds and his blood loss may have had him on the brink of death, but he could still move.

Ikki was about to reach his peak. It was too early for him to give up. Far too early. There were still things he could do, things that only Ikki Kurogane could do, so he was ready to push himself forward until the end.

No matter how badly he was beaten, those wounds would heal he could and try again. The wound of running away, however, was a knight’s shame, one that would last a lifetime.

“Aaarghhhhh!” Ikki let out a battle cry.

Every muscle, every drop of blood, every single cell in Ikki Kurogane’s body scraped up all of the magic within him. He was enveloped in blue flames, unleashing the light of his once-a-day Noble Art.

“I’ll use my greatest weakness to take hold of your greatest strength. Get ready to lose, Kirihara!” Ikki declared, resolving himself to end their battle once and for all.