Kanata aimed the sharp tip of her rapier at the palm of her hand.
Noah watched the slender blade crumble into glittering dust within her grasp.
His gaze darkened, and he sharpened his focus.
He didn't just manipulate the ambient wind, he infused his five-meter perception barrier with the lightning element, granting it the dual properties of wind and lightning.
Through his appraisal skill, he knew the truth behind her ability.
The sword hadn't disappeared; it had dispersed.
The Sword of Stardust—that was the true nature of her Device, Francesca.
The ability to splinter a blade and control the microscopic fragments. This was Kanata's power as a Blazer.
Right now, it looked like there was nothing between them in the arena, but in reality, millions of microscopic steel blades separated them.
Harder to spot than piano wire in a dense forest, the stardust was too small for the naked eye to detect, yet its lethality rivaled solid steel.
If you didn't understand this ability, you wouldn't know what hit you until you were sliced to ribbons.
A Blazer's abilities... each one is more bizarre than the last.
Swish!
Kanata slashed at the empty air.
In a flash, Noah sensed an intrusion within his barrier.
He condensed water and ice elements to form a thick ice wall.
The next second, the ice wall was shredded, sending icy debris flying as if sprayed by submachine gun fire.
It couldn't hold.
Sensing the kinetic power of her blades was too high, Noah applied gravity.
Boom!
The concrete ground cracked into several pieces.
The invisible blades were pinned to the floor, struggling against the pressure.
Kanata looked on in surprise.
Though these microscopic blades were formless and sharp, they still possessed mass. Suppressed by gravity, they were rendered useless.
Kanata gave a slight smile.
She raised her hand, and invisible blades shot high into the air.
Seeing this, Noah smiled wryly.
Under the crushing force of gravity, her blades were pinned to the ground and immobilized.
But if she manipulated the blades to drop from directly above from the very beginning, their downward momentum wouldn't be hindered by the gravity!
It seemed she had anticipated his tactical use of gravity all along.
Faced with the blades raining down from the sky, Noah leaped backward.
Almost the second he exited the strict five-meter radius of his gravity field, Kanata found that the blades she had been struggling to control recovered their speed.
She smiled. "I see. So that's your weakness."
Noah's expression didn't change, but he placed greater importance on her abilities—not just her raw power, but her aptitude for combat observation.
...
"A weakness?"
"The Calamity's weakness?"
The entire audience in the stands grew excited.
When people thought of the Calamity, the word that came to mind was "omnipotent."
His swordsmanship rivaled 'Another One'.
His magic attacks were more suffocating than the Lorelei's.
He could counter all natural elements and even fly.
What kind of weakness could someone like that possibly have?
Among the first and second years, a "Calamity Invincibility Theory" had gained traction.
The theory proposed that, theoretically, the Calamity had no physical weaknesses.
Many believed his C-Rank magic capacity was his flaw, yet so far, not a single opponent had lasted long enough to drain his reserves in a battle of attrition.
But if Scharlach Frau was the one saying it, then it carried immense tactical weight.
Everyone waited in anticipation to discover what the Calamity's weakness was.
And Kanata didn't disappoint.
"Your ability can only affect an area within a strict five-meter radius. Am I right?!"
Five meters.
She probably deduced that because the physical effects of the gravity field were removed from her stardust when he stepped back.
Noah sighed softly.
Though he didn't answer, it was a tacit admission.
"A five-meter radius?!"
"How is that possible? The Calamity has launched long-range magic that could reach the spectator stands!"
Kanata had uncovered the true nature of Noah's defensive ability, and a smile appeared on her face.
Yet she didn't feel happy.
Those with lower skill in the stands hadn't realized it yet, but the true powerhouses had caught on.
That five-meter radius... to them, it was a nightmare.
It was an absolute "Domain" entirely controlled by Noah.
Previously, even without knowing about the Domain's existence, they could only fight a bitter battle against his magic.
Now, even if they knew about the five-meter limit, what could they do?
They couldn't even touch him.
And touching the Domain would only lead to deeper despair.
Noah smiled. "You're the first opponent to unravel the secret of my ability. But it seems you also understand that figuring out the core of my power doesn't change anything."
With that, he raised his hand and aimed it at her.
"The weakness of your ability, however, is obvious, Kanata-senpai."
Like a typhoon making landfall, a massive tornado materialized in the arena, tearing through the space.
Kanata's sun hat was whipped away by the howling gale, shredded to pieces by her own Sword of Stardust caught in the raging wind.
Her golden hair whipped around her face.
There was no fear on the girl's face.
She was still smiling.
"Freeze!" Noah solidified the tornado, created from a mix of ambient water and wind, with a blast of freezing air.
A glittering, solid ice tornado formed. Its interior refracted rays of sunlight, illuminating the arena.
Everyone was captivated by the sight.
But this beauty was lethal!
A combination of absolute zero temperatures and millions of microscopic blades.
Nearly ninety percent of her blades were physically sealed within the solid ice.
Kanata could only recall the remaining stardust to her side, condensing them into three small physical swords.
Each was only the length of a pinky finger.
These were her final weapons.
Indeed, the Spell-Weaver's range was only a strict five-meter radius, but that was the range within which he could manipulate magic and elements perfectly.
Beyond that distance, the magic operated independently as a projectile and could not be interfered with.
"Let me show you something interesting." A small flame ignited in Noah's hand.
Simultaneously, magic power wove into two glowing magic circles around the flame.
Kanata frowned.
"A magic circle?"
She wondered what it was. Was it just a meaningless pattern, or was it a part of the Calamity's ability?
Noah opened his palm toward Kanata.
The magic circles in front of his hand expanded in sequence, and then the flame shot out from his palm.
After passing through the double magic circles, the flame underwent a physical transformation.
First was its volume.
The flame, which originally could only be called a spark, had its elemental mass and magical power magnified by more than ten times after passing through the first magic circle.
Then came the second magic circle.
The flames morphed into the shape of a Fire Dragon, lifelike and vivid. It looked like a real, living creature.
The Fire Dragon roared and lunged directly at Kanata!
Faced with such a fiery assault, Kanata hesitated for less than half a second before charging toward the fire dragon's maw.
"Wait! Kanata?!"
Watching from the stands, Tohka stood up in alarm.
The commentators' booth also went crazy.
"What is she planning?!"
"Scharlach Frau actually charged into the flames..."
Boom!
Putting all her B-Rank magic power into defense, Kanata controlled the remaining stardust and entered the striking range of her Noble Art.
"Hoshikuzu no Kaze—!"
The stardust condensed into a fine thread, piercing out from within the fire dragon.
This was Kanata Totokubara's Noble Art!
An attack judged to have B-Rank destructive power.
At the same time, Noah noticed a physical presence dropping from above.
It was a short sword.
Judging from the trajectory, she had thrown it high toward him right before charging into the flames, and it had timed its arrival directly above his head.
'Did she think the range or elements I can manipulate at one time are limited?'
'You can't compare them like that. The completion level of a true Noble Art far surpasses the simple use of an ability.'
'The concentrated magic contained in this frontal strike can't be crushed by gravity alone. I shouldn't try to defend, it would be better to offset it with an attack.'
"Impact—"
The kinetic shockwave erupting from Raven Feather clashed with the Stardust Wind Slash.
The blast blew away the falling short sword and scattered the invisible stardust thread.
Right then, a figure wreathed in flames dashed in front of Noah.
Looking at the burned figure before him, Noah had a moment of disbelief.
Because the stardust he had just scattered had pierced its master's skin!
Kanata didn't stop.
She grabbed the falling short sword out of mid-air and, using every ounce of her remaining magic power, stabbed downward at his neck.
"My God! Scharlach Frau actually charged through the flames in a suicide attack!"
Her pristine white outfit had mostly burned away.
Although she hadn't suffered a wardrobe malfunction, the girl's fair arms and thighs were exposed under the stadium spotlights—well, if her golden hair hadn't been singed, she might have looked even better.
Noah raised his hand, and a kinetic shockwave blasted straight at her face.
Kanata arched backward, dodging the blow with a dancer's flexibility.
Noah revealed a look of surprise.
'This girl's body... is flexible.'
Faced with a dagger aimed at his carotid artery, Noah didn't use his Weaver ability.
He enhanced his body with magic, raising his hand to catch the girl's descending wrist.
Then, he drove his elbow into her shoulder, using her own downward momentum to throw her over his shoulder.
The girl's back hit the concrete ground with a booming sound.
"Cough."
"Martial... arts?"
Kanata never expected that Noah, even without a sword in hand, could execute such an outstanding hand-to-hand combat maneuver, physically subduing her so fast!
Mustering her final ounce of strength, she manipulated the remaining stardust lodged within her own body to tear its way out, still refusing to give up her attack...
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