Chapter 298: A Surprise Prepared for the Next Battle!
Touka's aura plunged the entire venue into a heavy, suffocating atmosphere.
That extraordinary level of focus even made Stella, Ikki, and the others, who had quickly finished their own matches and rushed over to watch, unconsciously start worrying for Luke.
After Touka took her position, the host did not pause for long and immediately turned his words toward the other side.
"And appearing from the blue gate is a swordsman who, just like Raikiri, bears the name of the strongest!"
"If Raikiri represents the strongest position in Hagun Academy, then this contestant is the most likely candidate to replace her!"
"The undisputed strongest among the freshmen! Like her, he has won all nineteen of his matches, and like her, he has emerged from every single one without taking so much as a scratch!"
"Today, two of the strongest will clash here!"
"Will the falling stars crash into the earth and destroy everything, or will lightning tear through the heavens to protect all things?"
"First-year student, Falling Star Sword Emperor, Luke Ashburn! Entering the field!"
Just like Touka earlier, Luke walked onto the stage amid the host's loud announcement.
However, something about his entrance felt a little off.
"Hey, Ikki, don't you think… he's being a little too calm?"
Stella looked at Luke in confusion. After thinking it over carefully, she turned to Ikki beside her and asked.
"…Yeah. Too calm."
Ikki nodded.
He had noticed something strange about Luke right away, but he could not understand why it was happening.
Whether it was Stella or Ikki, both of them had assumed Luke's entrance would be similar to Touka's.
Whether it was sword energy soaring into the sky or violent sword intent, with Luke's strength, there was no way he would lose to Touka in terms of presence.
And yet, Luke released no aura at all. He simply walked forward in an utterly calm and ordinary manner.
However, Stella and Ikki failed to notice that before anyone realized it, Touka's overwhelming aura, which had been suppressing the entire venue, had quietly vanished.
Aside from Touka herself, the only ones who noticed this were world-class powerhouses like Nene and Kurono.
But although they noticed the phenomenon, they had no idea how Luke had done it.
Overpowering, destroying, or breaking through another person's aura with one's own was something they could also do.
But making an opponent withdraw their aura on their own, the way Luke had just done, was something neither Nene nor Kurono could understand.
The only one who saw through everything was an old man who had reached the same realm.
The moment Luke entered the field, Nangou Torajirou stood up.
His figure, which had seemed slightly hunched until just now, suddenly became perfectly straight.
His sudden movement drew the attention of Nene and Kurono beside him, but Nangou Torajirou had no intention of paying them any mind.
He simply stared at Luke, carefully observing the faint budding sign that had appeared around the boy.
"…At his age, he has already crossed past 'intent' and touched the next threshold?"
"If I hadn't seen this with my own eyes, this old man would never have believed it."
"That boy actually…"
Three "surprises" in a row.
Nangou Torajirou's words were filled with absolute shock.
He was already ninety-two years old this year. Excluding those old monsters, he was one of the most experienced Mage-Knight in the world.
Calling him well-informed was not nearly enough to describe the breadth of his experience.
Even so, he had never seen, or even heard of, anyone touching the realm of "domain" while still in their youth.
"No… perhaps there was one…"
As Nangou Torajirou watched Luke walk toward the center of the stage step by step, he softly spoke a name.
Twin-Wings, Edelweiss!
…
On the stage, Touka, who stood face-to-face with Luke, felt it more deeply than anyone else.
It was not that she had chosen to withdraw her aura.
Her aura had been forced back.
It was as though… her own aura was afraid of Luke.
Afraid of this man who was approaching one step at a time, it had retreated back into Touka's body on its own.
Only after Luke reached her and stopped did the girl suddenly realize that her back had been soaked with sweat at some point.
An inexplicable pressure covered her body.
For a moment, Touka even found it difficult to speak.
But after only a few seconds, that pressure suddenly withdrew like a receding tide and vanished without a trace.
At the same time, Luke's slightly embarrassed voice rang out.
"Ah, sorry. I still can't control this power very well."
"Your aura stimulated me a little just now, Touka-senpai, and I got excited without realizing it."
Touka was stunned for a moment.
Then she raised an eyebrow in slight displeasure and said,
"So, Luke-kun, you weren't planning to use that power in this match?"
"I came here intending to put everything I have into this battle… and you're telling me right from the start that you planned to hold back?"
Touka was genuinely a little angry now.
She knew she was not as strong as Luke, and the strange phenomenon just now had indirectly proven that point.
But at the very least, she had challenged him as a knight and as a swordsman.
Even if you were confident in your victory, surely you did not need to declare that you were going to go easy on her before the match even began.
"Do you… look down on me that much?"
Hearing the obvious anger in Touka's question, Luke knew he had unintentionally upset this senpai of his.
He helplessly rubbed his forehead and began explaining.
"You're misunderstanding me, Touka-senpai."
"It's not that I don't want to use it. It's that I can't use it properly yet."
"This power is something I only started grasping recently. I suppose it's thanks to someone that I was able to begin touching it ahead of time."
"But the time has still been too short. Right now, I can't freely release and withdraw it as I please."
"To put it simply, it's in a state where it works sometimes and doesn't work other times."
"Just now, your aura stimulated me, Touka-senpai, and I used it instinctively. But once your aura disappeared, I couldn't keep maintaining it either."
Of course, Luke's explanation still held something back.
Even if he truly had already perfectly mastered this power known as the Sword Domain, he would not use it in this match.
Because this was a surprise he was saving for someone.
A surprise reserved for his promised next duel with that person.
Unlike the hasty first time, the second battle in the future would be different.
Having exposed almost all of his trump cards, Luke would have no chance of winning at all.
But a completely one-sided battle was not what he wanted.
Therefore, Luke had to prepare several new trump cards once again.
Not only this new power, but a few other things as well.
In the next battle, just like the first time, he wanted to give that person a huge surprise.
Standing across from him, Touka fell silent after hearing his explanation.
After a while, she sighed softly and said,
"You've already… started moving toward the next realm."
"When school first started, I could still feel that the gap between us wasn't so wide that it couldn't be closed."
"But in less than a single semester, you've already left me far behind…"
"That's honestly pretty depressing."
Touka's faintly resentful tone and the sulky look she gave him immediately made Luke feel awkward enough that he had no idea how to respond.
And Touka clearly had no intention of continuing either.
The two of them simply stood there quietly, silently staring at each other.
Until…
"Um, contestant Luke, contestant Todo… the match has already begun, so could the two of you please summon your Devices and get ready?"
The host's slightly hesitant voice came through the broadcast, as though he was not sure whether he should interrupt their "deep, affectionate staring."
…
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