By comparison, Stella had taken the full weight of Ikki's final strike. She had been severely wounded before losing consciousness.
Seeing this, Chairperson Kurono Shinguji immediately stepped in to transport both Ikki and Stella to the infirmary. Haruki Aizawa lent a hand, helping move them to the medical wing. He did this not just out of respect for their warrior spirit, but as a silent thank-you to Ikki.
From Ikki's Ittou Shura, Haruki had finally found the missing link he had been searching for: the path to mastering Bloodlust.
Bloodlust was the most unique branch of the Ghost Slayer's four paths. Unlike Bladework, Waves, or Ghost Power, it wasn't something a Ghost Slayer simply learned or acquired; it was an innate, primal method of combat tied to the very essence of the "Spectral Hand."
In the lore of the world Haruki's system originated from, Ghost Slayers were individuals cursed with a condition known as Kazan Syndrome. This curse manifested as a gnarled, crimson arm—a "Ghost Arm"—that functioned as a vessel for a dark god's power.
Usually, these individuals appeared normal. But under extreme stress or rage, the curse would spread, turning their eyes blood-red and coiling the crimson corruption across their entire body until they were consumed by madness. To prevent this, most Ghost Slayers wore heavy chains and limiters to suppress the energy.
But the path of Bloodlust took a different approach. Instead of suppressing the madness, the user dedicated their very life to it, trading their vitality for raw, explosive destructive power. The more they drew upon Bloodlust, the closer they stepped to the edge of the abyss.
Haruki had never understood how to "fight with one's life" in such a literal sense—until he saw Ikki Kurogane's Ittou Shura. He realized exactly what was required.
Whoosh—
After leaving the infirmary, Haruki returned to the deserted training grounds. In the silence of the arena, he let his consciousness sink to the lowest depths of his mind. Mimicking the state Ikki had entered against Stella, Haruki focused on a sudden, violent eruption of his life force.
BOOM!
In an instant, Haruki mirrored the process. He released every ounce of his stamina, muscle strength, and latent energy.
In a single glance, he had mastered the mechanics of Ittou Shura.
Haruki's talent for swordsmanship was peerless. If a move was physically possible, he could understand it. If an ultimate technique was attainable, he could reach it given enough time. However, Haruki didn't intend to use Ittou Shura in actual combat. It was too much of a gamble—he had no desire to become a defenseless piece of meat after a sixty-second burst.
He used it purely as a catalyst. He needed to push his body to the brink of collapse so that his survival instinct would trigger a reaction from his "Ghost Hand." He needed to feel the sensation of turning vitality into lethality.
"Here it comes!"
At the moment his flesh and soul reached their limit, Haruki felt a surge of pure, primal madness from the depths of his spirit.
The reason he hadn't mastered Bloodlust before wasn't a lack of talent. It was because Bloodlust wasn't rational. You couldn't "study" it with logic. To master Bloodlust, you had to cast aside your reason. Its essence was madness; its foundation was a total disregard for death.
A rational human could never overcome the fear of mortality. Only a "madman" could dance on the edge of a blade, performing a waltz of flesh and blood.
This was the starting point of Bloodlust: Frenzy.
Rumble!
As his life force surged like a tidal wave and his soul trembled on the precipice, Haruki finally kicked open the door. His eyes turned a terrifying, demonic scarlet. His body radiated a scorching heat, and a dark-red mist—the crystallization of his own life energy—began to leak from his pores.
If Haruki had a health bar, it would be dropping by 1% every second. But in exchange, he gained a level of power that even the Ittou Shura state couldn't match. This was absolute, unbridled berserk power.
And Bloodlust wasn't just a physical buff.
Snap!
Driven by instinct, Haruki raised his arm. A surging blade of crimson energy—formed from his own blood and vitality—manifested in his hand. If his soul was burning, then every part of him was a weapon.
"Mountain Press!"
In the state of Frenzy, Haruki lost all sense of self. His body was a conflagration of battle intent. He had only one desire: to tear apart everything in front of him.
CRASH!
The crimson blade became a shockwave that tore through the air. The training ground, designed to withstand the high-impact collisions of A-Rank Blazers, was shredded instantly by the torrent of Bloodlust.
From above, it looked as if six visible, blood-red gashes had exploded across the arena simultaneously. The shields and barriers meant to contain the damage crumbled like glass.
[WARNING—WARNING! TRAINING GROUND 5 DAMAGED. UNKNOWN ANOMALY DETECTED.]
[WARNING—WARNING!]
Blaring alarms suddenly echoed throughout the campus. Snapping out of his Frenzy, Haruki realized the scale of the destruction he had caused. Dragging his exhausted, trembling body, he vanished from the training area immediately, disappearing before the security teams could arrive.
His body was screaming in pain, but his spirit was soaring. He had finally mastered the final branch. He was now a complete Ghost Slayer.
The destruction of Training Ground 5 caused a massive stir at Hagun Academy. Some even whispered about a terrorist attack. However, because the Bloodlust explosion had distorted all the electronic equipment in the vicinity, the security cameras had failed to record the incident.
Since it was still before the official start of the semester, there were few students on campus, and the incident was eventually swept under the rug by the high-ranking board members to avoid a scandal. However, the surveillance systems in all other training grounds were immediately upgraded to high-density magical sensors.
Haruki realized he wouldn't be able to practice his Bloodlust techniques on campus anymore. If he were caught, the fines would be astronomical, and he might even face expulsion—which would end his mission. From now on, he'd have to find secluded, abandoned areas for his "madness" training.
Time waited for no one, and the Hagun Academy entrance ceremony soon arrived.
During the lead-up to the first day of school, Haruki had been immersed in his training, rarely interacting with the outside world. Ikki Kurogane occasionally dropped by to ask for advice on physical conditioning. After his duel with Stella, Ikki had refused to share a room with her, requesting the Chairperson provide her with her own quarters.
Ikki's reasoning was that Stella had said only someone who beat her could be her roommate. Since Haruki had also suppressed her in the office, he felt the rule should be respected properly. Furthermore, Ikki had run into Haruki right after one of Haruki's Bloodlust sessions and was deeply moved by how "hard-working" Haruki was, seeing him in a state of near-total exhaustion.
Ikki felt that compared to Haruki, he was still lacking in every area—swordplay, stamina, and resolve. He threw himself into his own training with renewed vigor.
The Chairperson had granted Ikki's request, but in a final act of mischief, she assigned Stella a room right next door to Haruki and Ikki.
Haruki's routine became a simple cycle: physical training in the morning, sword practice in the afternoon, and late-night Bloodlust refinement in the outskirts of the city.
However, his morning runs now had two extra shadows.
On the paved trails of the sprawling Hagun campus, Haruki ran with his usual rhythmic pace, completing the first quarter of his planned route. Behind him, Ikki Kurogane was struggling, his breathing heavy but his footsteps steady.
And at the starting gate, Princess Stella was already doubled over, gasping for air and unable to move an inch further.
Stella had joined the morning routine out of sheer spite. Having been humbled twice on her first day—once by Haruki and once by Ikki—her pride was in tatters. She had imagined herself showing them up in physical training.
But after joining them, she realized the cruel truth: even among geniuses, there are levels.
Haruki's training intensity was not something a "normal" person could endure. Even Ikki, who had spent his whole life pushing himself to the brink, could only barely keep up through sheer willpower. Stella, a princess born with a silver spoon, simply didn't have the foundation.
This wasn't to say she was weak. For a normal Blazer, Stella's stamina was elite. But compared to Haruki, she was a mortal trying to keep up with a god.
In just a few days, Stella realized she wasn't a "Once-in-a-Decade" prodigy. She was a person crawling on the ground, looking up at the summit. However, instead of breaking her, this reality ignited her competitive spirit. She became determined to bridge the gap.
Almost every morning now ended with Stella collapsed on the grass, exhausted to the point of nausea. Meanwhile, Ikki became increasingly awestruck by Haruki's depth. He began to approach Haruki more frequently, eventually asking for a formal sparring match.