Chapter 161: Meeting Edelweiss Again!
"That is..."
There was no possibility Shiro could mistake that Sword Intent.
Only one person in this world possessed such a sharp and oppressive presence.
It was something Shiro had felt during every training session throughout the year he lived atop the sword peak.
Slowly, the corners of his lips rose.
"Stella, I'll leave this place to you."
He pulled his sword away from Ouma's [Ryuuzume], stepped back twice, and spoke to Stella.
"Eh? Me?"
Stella widened her eyes and pointed at her own face with a slender finger.
Earlier, both Stella and Rinna had stopped fighting to avoid being blown away by the aftermath of Shiro and Ouma's clash.
One had stabilized herself in midair with [Laevateinn], while the other had ordered her lion to shield both herself and her maid.
Simply surviving the aftermath of their battle had already been difficult.
Now Shiro wanted her to fight Ouma himself?
Was he serious?
This was the same man who had openly declared that he would slaughter everyone from Hagun if no one defeated him.
If Stella alone had to bear the consequences, she might have eagerly fought him without hesitation.
But once other people's lives became involved, even she would lose the recklessness expected of a girl her age.
Just like the responsibilities carried by her status as a princess of the Vermillion Empire, matters involving other people's lives always made Stella think more carefully.
"Relax. You might think you're still no match for a monster like him and that losing could get your companions killed."
"But if you fight seriously, you already won't lose to him."
Seeing her concerns, Shiro smiled reassuringly.
"But..."
"Trust me."
"Maybe meeting so many powerful people at Hagun has made you more humble."
"But don't forget—your true nature is a [Dragon]."
The instant she heard those words, Stella's heart pounded violently.
'Who do you think I am?'
The words nearly escaped her lips.
'What is this?'
Stella placed her right hand against her chest and felt the strange agitation inside.
Shiro was clearly encouraging her.
Yet for some inexplicable reason, she felt irritated, as though someone had challenged the very nature of her power.
The emotion spread through her heart like a virus.
While developing her true ability recently, Stella had already sensed that something was missing.
Something had prevented her from bringing out her real strength.
At this moment, she finally seemed to understand what it was.
She nodded firmly.
"Mm! Leave the rest to me."
Seeing determination return to Stella's eyes, Shiro finally relaxed.
He stomped against the ground, creating a spiderweb of cracks beneath his foot.
Using the force, his body transformed into a streak of white light and shot away.
The members of both sides could only stare at one another in confusion.
Ouma's Device was already badly damaged.
As long as Stella entered that state and unleashed [Katharterio Salamandra] at full power, [Ryuuzume] would almost certainly break first.
Even if the attack failed to seriously injure Ouma himself, his Device would not withstand it.
And even if Ouma endured the pain of his shattered Device through sheer willpower, his combat strength would drop drastically.
The other Akatsuki members also had no intention of killing Hagun's students like Ouma did.
Hagun would probably still lose badly after Shiro left.
After all, even Shiro had no idea how they intended to deal with Shionomiya Amane.
Still, this was an opportunity for them to experience world-class opponents earlier than expected.
Besides—While flying through the air, Shiro glanced toward two beautiful figures standing atop a nearby mountain.
Even if Akatsuki suddenly decided to kill Hagun's representatives like Ouma intended, they were not completely unprepared.
[World Clock] and [Yaksha Princess].
One was currently ranked third in the world.
The other was formerly ranked third.
'Heh. They'd better know when to stop.'
...
Wind roared beside Shiro's ears as he flew through the air at extreme speed, rapidly approaching the distant Sword Intent.
Soon, something resembling a barrier appeared before him.
It was a natural phenomenon created when an object approached the speed of sound and caught up with the sound waves it had previously emitted.
A sound barrier.
Shiro increased his speed slightly.
The barrier formed from overlapping sound waves was instantly pierced.
As the saying went—
'If I run fast enough, even my own voice can't catch me.'
Finally, after passing through layers of clouds and mist, Shiro saw her.
In a clearing deep within the forest, a moonlight-white figure sat upon a tree stump that had been cleanly split by a sword.
The familiar sacred-white clothing and the twin swords shaped like wings immediately revealed her identity.
The world's most wicked criminal—
[Twin-Wings], Edelweiss.
To Shiro, however, she was merely the roommate he had lived with for an entire year.
"Yo. What finally convinced you to show yourself?"
He landed in front of Edelweiss and greeted her with practiced familiarity.
Their agreement had included Shiro needing to find her again.
He certainly did not believe Edelweiss had become lonely enough to deliberately release her Sword Intent from such a distant place.
Unexpectedly, Edelweiss merely gave him a resentful look before silently sighing.
"I was afraid that if I didn't come out and lure you away, you would kill them."
"Who?"
Shiro naturally sat on the same stump as Edelweiss and used his hip to push her aside slightly.
His childish behavior immediately earned him an eye roll.
Knowing her personality well, Shiro reached into his Gift Card and pulled out a double-cream red-bean Jagamarukun, Ais's favorite, before offering it to her.
Edelweiss's hand froze halfway.
After hesitating for a moment, she eventually accepted it.
The instant she took a bite, her eyes narrowed blissfully.
"Akatsuki Academy... or more precisely, Shionomiya Amane."
"You know Shionomiya Amane too?"
"Mm. I was the one who introduced that child to Rebellion."
"I happened to encounter him by chance. By then, he had already become incapable of living normally within society."
"You know my circumstances as well. I had little choice but to bring him into Rebellion."
Edelweiss finally swallowed the Jagamarukun and released a satisfied breath.
"Besides, that child's personality should be exactly the type you hate most."
Just as Shiro had learned plenty about Edelweiss during their year together, Edelweiss had also come to understand Shiro's personality.
From what she knew, Shiro would never spare someone simply because they possessed a tragic past.
If the person was not his friend and endangered someone important to him, Shiro would cut them down first and ask questions later.
"Hm? Is Shionomiya Amane's ability really that strong?"
Shiro asked in confusion.
Unless an opponent was so dangerous that Shiro could not even intervene in time, or specifically demanded to fight him, he preferred leaving them to Stella and Ikki.
At his current level, someone needed to be at least a Desperado before Shiro would feel interested enough to personally fight them.
What enjoyment was there in bullying someone who had not even reached that realm?
"His ability is called [Nameless Glory]."
"The effect it manifests is essentially—[Wish Fulfillment]."
Edelweiss suddenly stopped.
"Wait. What are you doing?"
"Obviously, I'm going back to cut him down."
…
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