"Kirin!"
As the announcement signaling the start of the match rang out, Julis shouted sharply.
Responding to her signal, Kirin retreated alongside her.
"Anthurium!"
A massive wall of fire erupted from the ground like a fortress, reaching ten meters high—so tall it even touched the defensive barrier above—splitting the entire stage space in two.
"Cutting off their line of sight—a smart move!"
In the preparation room, Claudia sat stiffly, her expression solemn as she watched the broadcast on the spatial screen.
Though she often bickered with Julis, at this moment Claudia sincerely prayed for her success—not just because of their friendship, but also because she had no desire to face Queenvail's two special recruits either.
"They'll probably reveal their strategy soon."
"Whether it'll work is another matter."
In response to Claudia's speculation, Roy remained pessimistic.
Claudia glanced at him in surprise. Did he really have so little faith in them?
On the stage, Julis had erected the fiery barrier. With their opponents' vision obscured by the flames, she and Kirin swiftly switched positions. Initially, Julis had been matched against Stella while Kirin faced Okita, but now Julis would confront Okita while Kirin took on Stella.
Though it was frustrating, this was their only option.
Okita's close-combat abilities far surpassed Kirin's, while Stella's firepower was no less formidable than Julis's. If they stuck to their original matchups, defeat was inevitable. Now, they had to gamble—Julis would stall Okita while Kirin took down Stella as quickly as possible.
Previous matches had already proven that Stella's swordsmanship was mediocre. If Kirin could force her into close combat, her chances of victory were high!
The real question was how Julis planned to hold off Okita. Kirin was deeply concerned about this, but Julis was known for her vast repertoire of techniques—perhaps she truly had a way.
At this point, taking risks was the only path to victory. This pair of special recruits couldn't be defeated without gambling.
But—
"Dragon Breath!"
A torrent of flames, like an avalanche, surged from the other side of the fiery barrier. The overwhelming blaze carried terrifying force, shattering the wall of fire and continuing its relentless advance toward Julis and Kirin.
"This firepower...!"
Julis's expression darkened as a sense of foreboding crept into her heart.
Fortunately, the two had already switched positions. By the time the flames surged forward, they had already sensed the danger and swiftly dodged to either side.
Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind swept across the stage as a figure shot forward like an arrow, its blade aimed straight at Kirin.
"So fast!"
Kirin's heart lurched—the one charging at her was the opponent she least wanted to face. Among the four of them, only Okita possessed such terrifying speed.
"This ruins the whole point of switching opponents!"
Kirin inwardly cursed, but there was no room to choose her adversary now. Reluctantly, she drew her sword to meet the attack.
Okita's blade was frighteningly fast—faster than anyone had anticipated. But Kirin was a sword prodigy in her own right and didn't fall immediately.
"This swordsmanship...!"
Kirin struggled to fend off Okita's relentless, wave-like onslaught. The essence of her family's Toudou-ryu swordsmanship—Renkaku—couldn't even be deployed.
Yet the moment they crossed blades, Kirin noticed something peculiar about Okita's swordsmanship.
Over the past month, she had sparred over a hundred times with someone who wielded an identical style. The instant their swords clashed, she realized—Okita's techniques were exactly the same as Roy-senpai's! The patterns of attack, the reactions after being countered—every detail was indistinguishable.
"If that's the case...!"
Why this was happening, Kirin had no time to ponder.
But with this realization, her tactics shifted abruptly. She deliberately aimed her blade ahead of Okita's sword paths. Yet Okita's strikes were so fast that it almost seemed as if she was willingly lunging into Kirin's blade.
"I can predict where her next strike will land, but her speed is overwhelming. I can barely defend, let alone use Renkaku... Julis-senpai, it's up to you now!"
Kirin fought desperately against Okita's assault. The flashes of steel felt like they could slice into her at any moment, sending chills down her spine.
Renkaku, the essence of Toudou-ryu, lured opponents into predetermined attacks, gradually trapping them—but only worked against adversaries of comparable skill. The gap in their speed, especially sword speed, was terrifying. Okita's strikes were multiple times faster than hers. If not for Kirin's naturally keen eyesight, she wouldn't even be able to track the trajectories.
In this state, she was walking a tightrope. A single misstep meant total defeat. Merely holding her ground was already her limit—she had no room for anything else.
All she could do was hope Julis-senpai would turn the tide.
But the battle's progression far exceeded Kirin's expectations.
"Livingstone Daisy!"
Julis swung her rapier, and four flaming buzzsaws spiraled out from around her, hurtling toward Stella from all directions.
Stella's eyes darted rapidly as she cleaved through two of the saws with her golden greatsword, then leaped over the other two. With two more slashes, the remaining saws dissipated into the air.
Julis's expression darkened, her gaze sharper than before the match.
"Kirin said her swordsmanship was average—yet even that far surpasses mine. And her raw strength... She shattered a high-speed rotating saw with a single strike!"
Julis's close-combat skills weren't nonexistent, but they might as well have been.
Still, her last attack had bought her enough time. One of her trump cards was ready.
"Antirrhinum Majus!"
Her rapier traced the outline of a magic circle, and from it emerged a massive flaming dragon's maw, roaring toward Stella with scorching heat and crushing momentum.
Stella's eyes widened slightly in surprise before she swung her greatsword down with immense force.
"Crimson Dragon's Jaws!"
A nearly identical fiery dragon head erupted from her blade, colliding head-on with Julis's summoned inferno.
BOOM!!
The arena was engulfed in a violent surge of heat, with the temperature rising by more than ten degrees in an instant. Even the swirling air currents carried an astonishingly high temperature, making it feel like being in a sauna.
Amidst the roar of light and heat, a dragon's head emerged from the flames.
Then it charged straight toward Julis.
Julis's expression darkened instantly, as if she had anticipated this outcome. She created wings of fire behind her and accelerated swiftly, dodging the dragon head's impact.
"My worst fear has come true—Stella's firepower far surpasses mine!"
Julis's ominous premonition had now been confirmed.
Julis's combat style was characterized by a vast array of techniques—frontal assaults, flanking maneuvers, restraining moves, aerial maneuvers... She had a move for every situation, ensuring she could hold her own against any opponent and never be left defenseless. In essence, it was an endless display of dazzling versatility.
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