A second blade appeared in Ryoji's hand!
Was his Spiritual Item (Device) originally a dual-blade type? No, that shouldn't be the case. Otherwise, he would have used it earlier… which means this was an on-the-spot evolution?
Reforging a broken blade, transforming a Device, manifesting a second Device… in such a short time, he had actually achieved this many evolutions?
Holding the second Device, Ryoji charged forward.
Edelweiss looked at him, a flicker of hesitation passing through her eyes.
But in the end, she still swung her sword.
Clang!
After a brief clash, the two passed by each other.
Like intersecting beams of light.
There was no earth-shattering spectacle.
Only the stillness that followed an instant of explosive release. Edelweiss lowered her dual swords, letting them dissolve into light and return to her soul.
"To the one over there, when he wakes up, pass a message on for me."
She turned around, not even glancing at the two behind her.
"The next time we meet, I hope we can have a truly exhilarating duel."
Under the moonlight, the silver-haired woman, like a Valkyrie, gradually disappeared into the darkness.
Only after Edelweiss had left did Arisuin Nagi come back to his senses.
He hurried over to Ryoji. Ryoji stood there silently, his body completely unharmed.
Only the blade in his hand, and the sword he had thrown, had already vanished.
His eyes were closed. He had clearly lost consciousness.
"He passed out while still standing… his pride as a swordsman is really something else."
Arisuin Nagi let out a sigh, half helpless, half admiring, before placing Ryoji into the shadow space.
This assault on Akatsuki Academy had completely failed due to the appearance of the "Twin Wings."
On the other side…
Cough, Cough…!
After leaving the school gates, Edelweiss suddenly began coughing violently. She covered her mouth, trying to suppress the sound.
When she lowered her hand, a streak of bright red blood could clearly be seen at the corner of her lips.
"Hehehe, who would've thought, Little Ai, you actually got injured!"
In the empty plaza, a hoarse voice suddenly rang out. An elderly man with sparse white hair walked out, leaning on a cane, his face full of frivolity.
"Long time no see, Nangou-sensei."
Edelweiss wiped the blood from her lips and gave a slight bow to Nangou Torajirou.
"As expected of you, escaping so easily from Shinomiya Amane's ability. You must have been watching from the shadows for quite a while, right?"
"Hahaha! This old man is a senior, you know, how could I be lured away so easily by such a trivial trick of fate manipulation?"
Nangou Torajirou rubbed his nearly bald head, a smug grin spreading across his face.
When he set off yesterday at noon, he had already sensed the power of fate interference wrapping around his body.
That said, there really had been trouble at the prison. Shinguuji Kurono and Saikyou Nene were busy with the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival and couldn't spare the time, so he went to deal with it himself and returned this afternoon.
In other words, the conflict between Akatsuki Academy and Hagun Academy, as well as Ryoji's battle with Edelweiss, he had witnessed almost all of it.
"Kids have their own trials to face. There was no life-threatening danger anyway, so I let them be. It's not a bad form of training for them."
Nangou Torajirou spoke indifferently.
If he handled everything himself, then what purpose would they have?
After all, everyone grows through defeat, failure itself is one of the best forms of training.
"Putting that aside, what do you think?" Nangou Torajirou grinned, his expression full of playful mischief.
"Whatever do you mean?" Edelweiss asked in confusion.
"Of course I mean this old man's disciple!"
The wrinkled old face of Nangou Torajirou nearly bloomed into a chrysanthemum from how wide he was grinning.
"Didn't he just injure you?"
There was no better word than smug to describe his current mood.
"Very strong!"
Hearing that, Edelweiss recalled the boy's final strike and couldn't help letting out a regretful sigh.
"It's just a pity that his last move was still too immature, I caught a flaw and counterattacked. If that move had been perfected… I might have been the one defeated."
Her tone was completely sincere. Nangou Torajirou had watched her grow up since childhood, he was like a grandfather to her. There was no need for her to hide anything. Ryoji's final move had been incredibly powerful. It had forcibly locked her in space in an almost unreasonable way. If not for his lack of proficiency, her condition right now would be hard to say.
Even so, she had still been injured, she had coughed up blood.
That was clearly a move he had yet to complete, or rather, one he hadn't fully mastered.
Once he perfected it, the outcome would truly be uncertain.
Of course, this battle was still her complete victory.
"That amazing?"
Nangou Torajirou was genuinely startled by her high evaluation.
He knew very well that Edelweiss was a straightforward person, there was no exaggeration or ambiguity in her words, so her praise truly shocked him.
He had always known that Ryoji would eventually surpass her, but he never expected that he had already reached the point of catching up to her heels!
"Hehehe… say, Edelweiss, you're not exactly young anymore. How come you still don't have a partner?"
Nangou Torajirou's eyes rolled mischievously as his face broke into an eager grin.
"Look at this disciple of mine, handsome, talented, skilled with the sword. You two are a perfect match! Want to give it some thought?"
What?
What about Toudou Touka?
Let the brat figure it out himself!
"Heh… Nangou-sensei, you really do love your jokes."
Edelweiss tugged at the corner of her mouth.
There was no real smile behind it. Brushing past Nangou Torajirou perfunctorily, she walked deeper into Akatsuki Academy.
Ryoji was the disciple of the "God of War."
In other words, he could be considered half her junior brother.
More than twenty years ago, when she studied under Kurogane Ryouma, she had received a lot of care from Nangou-sensei, which was why she had shown Ryoji mercy time and again.
"But… romance, huh…"
After Nangou brought up her age, Edelweiss suddenly grew a bit gloomy.
Having become the world's strongest at a young age and living at the pinnacle of the world ever since, she had hardly any friends, let alone a romantic partner.
So even though she was approaching forty, she was still completely inexperienced in love.
Though she didn't show it outwardly, she was actually quite anxious about it.
Whenever she saw couples around her, an inexplicable irritation would rise in her heart.
Sometimes she even felt the impulse to break them apart.
She didn't realize,
In society, this is commonly called "late marriage anxiety."
"Should I really find someone…? But who would even dare to be with me?"
Edelweiss felt deeply troubled.
As the world's strongest, most people's first reaction upon seeing her was either fear, or the desire to conquer her.
Suddenly, she recalled Nangou-sensei's words.
"My half-junior brother really is outstanding. It's only a matter of time before he surpasses me… If it were him, it wouldn't be inappropriate…"
Most importantly, his obsession with the sword stirred something unusual in her heart.
"No, no, that won't do! I'm more than a full generation older than him. How could I go 'old cow eating young grass'?!"
(End of Chapter)
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