Dura 2 Volume 6

A sonic blast came at Stella from behind her, right from her blind spot. Her attention being drawn by Yui, she could not evade this blow. From the wide-open jaws of the lion issued forth a torrent of sound that struck her full-on, stripping her of all mobility.

「Aaah! This is bad! Stella's been caught by the Beast Tamer's Noble Art, King's Pressure, the same one that robbed Bunkyoku Academy's Komashiro of the ability to move in the first round! There's no way Tatara will let this critical opportunity pass!」

"I'll finish ya before you ever draw! Just keep cowering there and die!"

Sawblades screamed as they drew a horizontal arc towards Stella, unable to move due to King's Pressure, and struck home right in her defenseless midsection.

"Raaaahh!"

With a mighty swing, Yui blew Stella away.

Then—

"King's Charge!"

—another strike came in as insurance. It was the charge of a magically-empowered lion, a beast that already possessed mass and strength far surpassing that of men. As such, it was only to be expected that Stella, weighing only as much as a normal girl, was knocked back with ease, bouncing like a rubber ball across and out of the ring.

The force sent her into the concrete wall just below the spectator stands, and with a crash and a cloud of plaster a portion of the masonry came crumbling down

Well, if you had to blame this one on anyone, it would have to be her teacher."

"Her teacher?"

The blame for having called for but being unable to deal with the disadvantages of a four-versus-one battle and being beaten down pathetically lay not with Stella, but rather with Saikyou? Unable to comprehend Kurono's reasoning, Shizuku gave it some thought.

"Are you saying that Saikyou-sensei's teaching methods were subpar?"

In response, Kurono flashed a wry smile―no, it was more the grin of the cat that got the cream, as though she was expecting something interesting to happen.

"I guess this was bound to happen if she'd even managed to pass on her slovenly ways. You see, that combo didn't hit Vermillion because she was careless, but because she found it too tiresome to dodge."

"Eh?"

In that instant, it happened. With a crash that resounded throughout the stadium, a huge piece of rubble that might have weighed a ton was sent rocketing into the sky from where it had lain atop Stella.

"Wha—!?"

At that sound, Shizuku's eyes returned to the ring.

Naturally, the one who had knocked it away was Stella, who had been buried underneath. Having swept away the debris atop her with a skyward straight from her right fist, she leapt lightly back into the ring―just in time for the count of eight… and with nary a scratch on her from either the charge or the cut to the stomach, she casually swept the remaining dust from her uniform.

And she muttered as though having understood something.

"…Hmm. That's all you have, huh?"