Strength 18 Volume 12

Her body still moved. She moved forward.

Her body, that was fully trained to keep this『ego』, wasn’t dead yet.

If so, and with the gratitude that kept being lighted in her heart, she would clear away the darkness that closed the road she walked with her sword.

Not her duty as the imperial family,

Not her responsibility as the sword of Vermillion,

To her father, mother, sister and the family members of her hometown who loved an raised her,

This little crybaby that everyone loved became a splendid knight who would throw out her chest…!!

– Pierce the sky   purgatory flame.

– ――!

In an instant, 《Toutetsu》Fu Xiaoli, who stepped into her territory, saw.

How the opponent《Crimson Princess》Stella Vermillion put up the swaying《Laevateinn》in the sky.

She already saw that posture once. She didn’t misread it.

This was the posture of《Karsaritio Salamandra》, the Noble Arts with the greatest firepower she was proud of.

However, the brilliance of the flame dwelling in the sword had no power, it wore no more than a weak bright red light.

Compared to the《Karsaritio Salamandra》she saw earlier, the difference was gigantic.

But it was natural.

Stella was so exhausted that she couldn’t recover the damage from the hits she received anymore.

She had wounds all over her body. Total exhaustion. A perfect blow in that state shouldn’t be released.

Since she caught a perfect-condition 《Karsaritio Salamandra》 easily, this one didn’t deserve her fear.

A valueless logic.

Such――

Such practical joke sprung out from Xiaoli’s thought.

It was natural.

That the light that dwelled in Stella’s sword now wasn’t the same that dwelled in her eyes, the one that Xiaoli could never blow out…!

(It seems that my eyes are the ones getting cloudy now, huh)

She disdained Stella as『a weak person』who didn’t need to compete even for their lives.

What a foolish misunderstanding, isn’t it?

She looked at her eyes.

Was that an expression that a『weak person』could do?

Since she was the owner of a superior real strength, she ended up understanding the difference in ability whether she wanted or not, even if she fully realized the limits of her own fate many times; and the touch of light, that continued shining in the darkness of resignation and despair in her eyes, aimed directly at her life.

She had it in her.

The thing she would never give up no matter the dilemma she was in.

――Was it the same for me as the pride of my country?

If so, her heart couldn’t be broken. She wasn’t the type of human who would have her heart broken.

She would come to face her. As long as the fire of her soul kept burning.

And, that tenacity would surely reach her. It wasn’t that far from her life.

She was wrong. She wasn’t an opponent who felt like she would show mercy.

Since she became the strongest for her country too――

(The one in front of me is the『enemy』that I certainly have to defeat here and now!)

– Fun!!!!

Xiaoli trampled down the bedrock with a short scream.

The shackles of the iron ball that snapped at her right foot flew off.

And,

– Thank you, I withdraw all my arrogant attitude and remarks so far. You’re your own might, an enemy capable of fighting all 4,000 years of Chinese history to exhaustion. So――

I’ll show you.

All my power, the reaching point of Shishouken that《Shinryuuji》arrived at after 4,000 years!

Xiaoli, who hardened her determination, closed her eyes.

Raised her hands over her head then breathed as she made a semicircle.

She slowly and greatly expanded her lungs to the limit and let vitality get in the blood.

And with the strength rising high in her whole body――

– Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa――――!!!!

She released it with a roar that shook heaven and earth.

Blue flames surged up from Xiaoli’s body to the sky in an instant, becoming a pillar.

A scorching rage that burned the dead of night bluish-white.

The torrent of raging power was of an unbelievable output compared to what Xiaoli used so far.

Yes, this was the secret technique of Xiaoli and Shishouken.

Among the warriors of《Shinryuuji》, 《Tairoushi》, who was the current《God of War》and the prodigy《Toutetsu》reached the peak.

Shishouki Ougi――《Kirinkou》

By releasing all the power, willpower, stamina and magic power that surrounded her whole body in an instant, all the safe locks that her survival instincts as existence had were temporarily wrenched open, this was a breathing technique that raised the power of her Noble Arts to several tens of times though for a short time.

Ikki, who was watching attentively the battle near them, noticed the blue flame that stabbed the heavens.

(This, is…!)

That was exactly the culmination of a concentration just like his own Noble Arts《Ittou Shura》.

Moreover, it was strengthened by《Kirinkou》and not by the feeble ability of the《Worst One》.

《Crimson Princess》Stella Vermillion’s power of the dragon.

The worries concealed in Ikki’s chest sprung out with the latent energy of the out-of-bounds《Toutetsu》.

However, without worrying about the worries of the persons who watched Stella attentively, Xiaoli put all the power of the dragon strengthened by《Kirinkou》into《Banki》and transformed both arms into a bluish-white plasma of light and heat. And with those shining hands, she grasped her strength, her will and all China’s 4,000 years in her fists.

– Here I go!!

《Toutetsu》bared her fangs with a seriousness she didn’t show all day in order to push out the dragon that hung on to herself.

Xiaoli, who turned both arms into the sun, rushed towards Stella who raised her sword overhead.

Without attempting a long-distance magic battle.

She, who was a《Desperado》, knew.

That this battle was outside of their fate by now, a battle that headed to unguided and unexplored territories.

(Will this badly imitated long-range gun knock her down?)

The question here was: the strength of her soul to surpass her tactics and skill.

The strength of the determination to continue believing in her own worth and to sacrifice herself for her own desires.

All kind of deceptions――would absolutely not work.

The only thing she believed in was this《Banki》she was proud of and that grasped tightly the pride of the 4,000-year-old China!!

――Because of that,

(I’ll go head-on!)

She wouldn’t run away from her opponent’s resolution. She would not tamper with her.

If she tamped with her here, she would know that her fists would be unable to break her opponent’s resolution.

Her resolution would smash her opponent’s resolution and would step straight into Stella’s sword reach without shaking that unshakeable self-confidence.

– ―――――!

And the instant when Xiaoli stepped into her sword reach.

《Laevateinn》was swung down.

Sword and fist. The initiative was taken by Stella.

In order for Xiaoli to reach Stella, her blow had to be prevented first.

But Xiaoli concluded that it wasn’t a problem.

This didn’t mean she looked down on Stella. Xiaoli understood that the fire sword that just came down, that the slash attracted to the seemingly powerless gravitational pulling had an unparalleled weight.

But while she understood that, a 4,000-year-old China still supported her.

An unparalleled backbone in the world.

(I will catch it! With this《Taizan》!)

– Fuu!

Xiaoli gnawed the earth and Stella’s critical zone.

Seized the whole weight of Edelberg with the physical strength of a dragon strengthened dozens of times with《Kirinkou》.

And with that strong support as a foothold, she swung her left arm that shone with light and heat towards the falling Stella’s《Karsaritio Salamandra》.

――She caught it.

Left arm《Banki》and Stella’s《Laevateinn》.

Immediately after, the surrounding atmosphere was blown away by the collision of bright red and blue flames,

– 〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜!!!!

An unprecedented mass weighed on Xiaoli’s whole body.

The super heavy blow lifted the lingering snow and blew away the surrounding atmosphere just with the impact of the collision.

It easily crushed Xiaoli’s arm for a second time.

Not only that, it spread from her unstoppable shoulder to her whole body.

Crushed shoulder.

Squashed entrails.

The muscles that supported her whole body and tried to go against the pressure snapped apart beyond the limits of their tension in the blink of an eye.

Eventually, Xiaoli made cracks produce even on the bedrock that supported her――

– A―――aAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Still, 《Taizan》didn’t waver.

Xiaoli’s spine didn’t bend.

She completely caught.

Stella’s resolution, the weight of her soul, everything.

A struggle was born between the two, and in an instant――something broke, a high-pitched sound resounded.

The sound was generated at the center of the struggle of the two.

That was the sound of《Laevateinn》, the Device of《Crimson Princess》that developed a crack.

Once it developed a crack, it could not be stopped.

Innumerable cracks were generated in《Laevateinn》that was caught by《Banki》.

And broke into pieces.

The representation of Stella Vermillion’s soul.

It was natural.

It accumulated damage again and again during this time.

The damage crushed it to death, then caught by a mustered and supreme strength.

That hard fact broke the heart of the indomitable Stella.

(I won…!!)

The cracked《Laevateinn》convinced Xiaoli of her victory.

Then she shook off the left arm, pushed the sword aside and only got in the range of her fist.

Her right demolishing fist clad in the power of the dragon.

The victory of this match was hers!

Xiaoli, who believed so, pushed aside the cracked《Laevateinn》and,

( Eh?)

It didn’t move.

The left arm that tried to push《Laevateinn》 aside with the intention of pulverizing her with all her strength. It twitched.

It was heavy. The pressure applied on it didn’t disappear. It didn’t become loose.

“Why?” Xiaoli looked at《Laevateinn》with an amazed expression,

(…!)

She was lost for words.

The cracked《Laevateinn》.

The sword of destiny broke and disappeared as if becoming mist.

A golden brilliance that cut and tore the darkness leaked out from inside the cracks.

The brilliance increased the intensity of light as the collapse of《Laevateinn》progressed, and finally, it shone so brilliantly that she couldn’t even take a straight look at it, it swallowed even the brilliance that Xiaoli’s blue flames emitted.

Xiaoli understood that scene.

That wasn’t a collapse. It wasn’t the end.

As if that kind of thing, was, exactly like,

Like hatching――

– You said it. You’re… heavy like a mountain, didn’t you?

– ―――――!?

– In that case, I’ll cut the whole mountain off――――!!!!

At that moment, 《Laevateinn》was blown away by the light jetting out from inside and burst open.

The overflow of flames of light burned off the sounds, darkness, despair, everything.

The overwhelming amount of heat blasted away the world and consciousness of 《Toutetsu》Fu Xiaoli in the twinkling of an eye,

And the world’s highest mountain《Kenhou》Edelberg――

Was cut into two.