Shizuku Kurogane reminisced about her days as a child.

No matter what she did, be it hit other children, steal their toys, or even break the toys she stole, she was always forgiven. Why was that? It was because, even when she was young, her talent as a Blazer was clear.

“I’m sorry, Shizuku. You too! Say you’re sorry!”

“Sorry.”

The child Shizuku had bullied, a relative of hers, was forced to apologize after his mother whacked him on the head. It was a quivering, forced apology filled with repressed anger, but Shizuku merely glared at them with the same disgusted look she always wore.

Children who distorted justice in the face of power, adults who ignored wrongdoing in the face of power—everyone around her was exactly the same: worthless. They bowed down to the strong, expressing completely artificial gratitude and good will. It was a filthy sight.

That was the reason Shizuku came to hate the human race, even becoming fed up with her own self for being one of those worthless creatures. As she did, she took out her frustration on those weaker than her; it made her feel just a tiny bit better when she heard the cries of the beings she hated. But there was a boy—just one boy—who wouldn’t allow her to do that.

Slap!

That boy, Ikki Kurogane, would smack her in the face when she made other children cry.

“You can’t bully the weak,” he would tell her.

At the time, Shizuku hadn’t realized what had happened to her. Her parents had scolded her before, but they had never laid a hand on her, so despite not knowing why, her cheek swelled and grew hot as tears flowed from her eyes.

“Apologize right now, young man!” the adults, red with rage, would scream at Ikki when they saw Shizuku crying. When he refused, they hit him, but Ikki never bowed his head. He had no reason to.

Shizuku had never met someone like him before, because nobody else had the guts to tell her when she was wrong. Though she cried from the shock of being slapped, she was actually happy. She didn’t want to be spoiled; she wanted someone strict, who honestly respected her as a fellow human being. She had always hoped to meet someone like him. It was then that she decided to follow his example, so that one day she might grow up to be different than the worthless adults she knew.

I had no idea back then.

She didn’t know the hardship of her brother’s world, or the solitude he was forced to bear.

◆◇◆◇◆

“First-year student Shizuku Kurogane, your battle is about to begin. Please make your way to the arena.”

Shizuku slowly opened her eyes as she listened to the announcement. A dark passage lay before her, leading directly to the entrance of the arena. Without hesitation, she walked forward, continuing to reminisce.

Only after he ran away did I realize how much pain my brother was in.

As if he had never existed, nobody in the Kurogane family had bothered to search for him. That was when Shizuku had come to realize what her brother hid behind his gentle smile. She loathed the entire Kurogane family for how they had driven him away, and through her loathing, she came to a decision: If nobody else in the world would love Ikki, then she was willing to offer him all the love being deprived of him.

Accomplishing that was impossible the way she was, however. Constantly relying on him and following him around wasn’t the answer. Shizuku couldn’t save her brother if she couldn’t support him as an equal; she would end up leaving him in solitude once more. She had no choice but to become stronger.

One day, Ikki would stand out from the rest of the world. Shizuku understood that, because she knew his strength better than anyone else. Still, she worked tirelessly, desperately, in hopes of becoming someone who could stand as his equal.

Eventually, she became strong enough to become a Rank B Blazer, but it wasn’t enough. If Ikki was aiming to take the Seven Stars, then Shizuku wasn’t quite ready to walk alongside him.

“Okay, everyone! Let’s meet the fighters for today’s twelfth match! From the blue gate, we have the little sister of Ikki Kurogane, the most popular knight this year! She’s second-best among the first-years, trailing just behind the Crimson Princess!

“With fifteen matches fought, she has a perfect fifteen-win record! She’ll trounce you even if your ability has an advantage against hers! Will she once again be able to use her outstanding magic control to drag her opponent into the depths?! It’s Shizuku Kurogane, the legendary Lorelei!”

Shizuku exited the dim hallway and was immediately met with cheers echoing throughout the arena, but even the deafening cheers seemed so far away, for Shizuku was focused solely on the person standing before her.

“And from the red gate, we have the highest-ranking student knight in Hagun, bearing the title of student council president! In only her second year, she advanced all the way to the semifinals at the Seven Stars Battle Festival before losing to the soon-to-be Seven Stars King, Bukyoku Academy’s Moroboshi. This year, however, she has once again taken the stage in the all-out war for the summit, with her invincible trump card honed more than ever!

“Speed that can’t be avoided, sharpness that can’t be blocked! Will her golden flash once again cut down her foe in the blink of an eye?! It’s Hagun’s most powerful and most beloved lightning-wielder, Touka Toudou—the Raikiri herself!”