Ikki vs Stella SSSAF

There was no need for words. Ikki wiped away the tears, and he hit his Intetsu with all of his strength at Lævateinn, Stella’s soul, before his eyes.



Sparks flew, steel and steel locked against each other.



However, despite the full strength hit, Lævateinn did not shake a tiny bit.



The feedback felt like hitting against a huge chunk of metal.



Feeling the numbness in his hand from that girl’s powerful strength, Ikki trembled.



(That’s how it should be......!)



He overcame various kinds of battles.



He won against many fierce opponents.



However, as expected, she was ── special.

[Basic intro to the fight, Stella, without moving or trying, is laughably stronger than Ikki, so Ikki striking her sword with all his strength doesn't budge it a tiny bit]
- vol 8
----------------------------------------------------
Where the blue light pointed, accompanied with a cloud of smoke underfoot, was a black haired young
man.
「Within the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival’s sixty years of history, he is the only F-ranked knight!
Surely, even when he defeated Raikiri and announced himself to the nation, nobody expected such an
incredible man!
But at the same time, you must be thinking, even though he is amazing, he is still an F-rank.
To have gotten through the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival with such a risky fighting style is hardly
believable.
Not only that, he came from the perilous C block, which contained last year’s winner and the runner-up.
Having come so far, he is here to win!

- vol 9
[Ikki once again described as hella weak compared to everyone else]
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“I can tell just by looking. It’s a foregone conclusion. The difference in power has been clear from the
start. He doesn’t have the option of fighting head on. If he entered the ring in a low gear, he would,
without a doubt, be killed instantly. To compete with Vermillion, Kurogane will have to be in high gear
from start to finish. If he relaxes even for a moment from that state-”
“At that point Kurogane would lose. This is truly a match where he has to focus.”
“Yeah. But it's the same for us. I should have said that this morning, with you being in vacation mood
and all.”

[Further reinforcement of Ikki's weakness]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
As soon as the signal was given, everyone lost sight of Ikki Kurogane.
Using the instant acceleration from Twin Wings’ technique, Ikki broke out of everyone’s line of sight and
moved towards Stella.
「Whoah! The instant the signal was given, contender Kurogane disappeared! How fast!」
「He’s a short ranged fighter. It goes without saying that he will try to take this fight in his own range.
That conclusion is obvious, yet-」
Kaieda also found himself wide-eyed.
Such speed was incredible.
It was clearly faster than even Ikki himself in his last fights.
Except, that was to be expected.
Ikki’s excessive warm-up had brought him into the ring already in high gear.
(Feeling great!)
His body felt light as a feather, without losing any power.
He was in perfect condition.

[Ikki's ES is even better now than it was against Moroboshi]
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Now resolute, Ikki rushed into Lævateinn’s range and established a rhythm, moving left and right. With
those movements, he dazzled Stella’s eyes, creating afterimages.
「Those steps... it’s Shinkirou!」
「He not only forestalled her attack with a quick advance, but also added illusory movement. The
princess has not yet completely assumed a stance! Has he taken the initiative?」
Moroboshi, watching the match from next to Shizuku, clenched his fist upon seeing Ikki’s excellent
surprise attack.
Ikki’s preemptive strike was almost perfect.
It was no ordinary surprise attack.
Having warmed up since that morning, he was able to move at top speed from the very first step to take
the initiative, and furthermore, using footwork to generate an illusion, thus snuffing out almost any
chance of a counterattack.
He had prepared it since before the match even began, putting everything he had into it.
There was no margin for weaknesses.
It had none.

[Ikki combining his ES and afterimages to close the gap and not allow for counterattacks]
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“Dragon Stomp!”
Stella raised her long, beautiful leg and dropped a heel kick upon the ring.
The ground broke along a fault, accompanied by the sound of a blast.
“!?!?”
「W-whaaaaaaat!?!?」
「Kyaaaaaaa!!!」
「Th-there’s no way!」
Shrieks arose from the audience. It only made sense.
「W-w-what is this? As soon as Stella struck the ground, a powerful earthquake splintered the ring like a
spiderweb centered on Stella!」
There wasn’t even this much damage when that Panzer Grizzly performed his shiko[2]!
Who would have thought such destruction could be wrought by the thin legs of such a lovable girl?
Of course, Stella’s main goal with this move was not to destroy the ring.
(Crap! The shockwaves sent me flying!)
That was it. Dragon Stomp was a technique that used inhuman strength to shake the ground and stop
opponents’ movements.

[Stella breaking the entire 100-metre ring with a single stomp [scale from panzer grizzy]]
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A flash. The Crimson Princess swung her white hot blade at the real Ikki.
Ikki’s reaction to this could be summed up in a few words.
He had read the trajectory of the coming attack and prepared Intetsu to parry before Stella had even
swung her sword.
However, he was unable to parry that awesome force.
The instant Lævateinn struck Intetsu, the terrific power transmitted through the blades uprooted Ikki
from the ground and sent him flying like a toy.
While Ikki just barely landed at the edge of the ring, the reality that attempting to parry an attack that
he had read perfectly had sent him flying fifty meters left a cold sweat on his forehead.
(As I expected, taking Stella’s blade head on is an absolute no-no...)

***

While pushing back in the shoulder that had dislocated from taking the earlier blow, he faced Stella with
a joyous expression.
“This is just how I expected it.”

***

The ones who stood out even among the student council, Touka and Kanata, noticed what Ikki had done
in that instant.
“In the instant of the impact, he intentionally dislocated his own shoulder and completely distributed
the force behind him like a bamboo mat. Thinking when pushed to the brink is normal for us too.”
“Eeeh, did he do such a thing?”
“If he hadn’t, he’d be stuck in the wall below us right now.”

[The difference between Ikki and Stella's physicals]
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In the next instant, when Stella cast out enough heat to warp the light along with almost tangible
bloodlust, Ikki understood.
(This pressure, there’s no mistaking it! That is coming!)
“Bahamut Howl!!!”
Just as Ikki realized what was coming, Stella unleashed the flames of her largest area attack.
Light and heat gushed out from Stella in every directions.
「Th-, This is the Noble Art Stella used to dominate the tournament’s first round!」
As Stella made her move, Kurono and the other magic knights hurriedly moved to protect the audience.
They had to. This Noble Art’s effective range was far beyond the ring alone; it could easily envelop the
entire dome.
Even so, Stella went beyond what she did in the first round, firing off this Noble Art without using
illusionary form.
If the magic knights were to fail in their defense, the dome and everyone inside would be evaporated.
However, the magic knights were specially chosen for their skill.
To allow the fighters to unleash their power unbridled, they could instantly form a defense
strong enough to withstand even Stella’s Bahamut Howl.
The audience was safe.
But within the ring, there was nowhere to hide!
「A scorching hot heat wave has come from Fighter Stella in the center, covering the ring! Fighter
Kurogane has nowhere to run! He’s suddenly cornered!」
「Not quite, please look!」
The one who called that out was commentator Kaieda.
He’d noticed.
Before the wave of heat that would cover the ring, Ikki stood his ground, dropping low to the floor.
Then, from that low stance, Ikki fired out-
“Saigeki!”
Ikki kicked off the ground hard, flying forward straight into the wave of heat.
「F, Fighter Kurogane has charged into Bahamut Howl of his own accord! What is he thinking!?!?」
His decision left the commentator bewildered. However-
「No, this is the correct decision.」
「Kaieda Sensei!?!?」
「If he controls the speed himself and charges in, he can minimize the time spent in contact with the
heat wave, and thus minimize the damage too. Look carefully. Fighter Kurogane is pushing into Bahamut
Howl with his sword perpendicular to the heat wave. By doing so he is lowering the surface area that
contacts the wave. With this, he can break through without a problem!」
Just as Kaieda said, Ikki thrust himself into the heat wave with Saigeki.
They crossed for an instant. With the damage limited to some singed hair, Ikki flew straight towards the
source of the wave, aiming for Stella like an arrow.
He thrust Intetsu into her heart!

[Ikki using Saigeki somehow avoids pretty much all the damage from an AoE fire attack that takes up the entire ring and is hot enough to turn trees into ash instantly]
------------------------------------------------------------
They crossed for an instant. With the damage limited to some singed hair, Ikki flew straight towards the
source of the wave, aiming for Stella like an arrow.
He thrust Intetsu into her heart!
“...”
The image of Stella, with her chest run through, suddenly rippled and vanished like an illusion.
It was Stella’s Noble Art which created illusions by warping light, Flame Veil.
Not even Stella thought that a wide area attack such as Bahamut Howl would be enough to defeat Ikki.
His breakthrough was within her calculations.
Her strategy had been to momentarily cut his field of vision with Bahamut Howl and deploy Flame Veil in
that time.
The resulting projection would be used to bait Ikki.
“I’ve got you!”
Stella appeared behind Ikki, having made herself invisible with the same Flame Veil, now ready to
attack!
However!
“...!”
After making her appearance and preparing to strike down at Ikki, Stella suddenly shuddered.
Ikki was already looking over his shoulder at her with his keen gaze, as calm as a lake without a single
ripple in it, despite the situation.
She had been read.
No doubt about it, seeing as her opponent was Worst One

[Despite Stella using a multi-layered strat of using an AoE to block vision, an illusion, and then invisibility on top of that, Ikki saw through it with ease]
----------------------------------------------------------------
Without a single worry, Stella swung her sword down without holding back.
However-
“Third Secret Sword-Madoka.”
The attack that struck Stella immediately after far exceeded expectations.
“!?!?!?”
The sound of the resulting hit would best be described as an explosion, and this time Stella was the one
sent flying.
Even as Stella braced her legs to try and stop, she slid backwards while chipping the concrete. Like Ikki
earlier, she was driven to the edge of the ring.
「Wow! This time, as if paying her back for earlier, Fighter Ikki has sent Fighter Stella to the edge of the
ring! It’s a complete reversal!!!」
By turning around a desperate situation with an unthinkable power play to answer the blow he took at
the start, Ikki further fanned the excitement in the arena.
Stella remained calm despite the clatter.
She calmly analyzed the numbness left in her sword hand.
(This numbness... This power... This isn’t Ikki’s, is it)
Stella understood Ikki’s specs for the most part.
That’s why she understood.
With his strength alone, he was unable to output such offensive power.
In fact, it should be impossible for anyone but Ouma.
On the topic of people with such attack power, there was nobody else except for herself. In that case...
“You stole my power, didn’t you.”
In response to Stella’s surprisingly pleased tone, Ikki returned a smile.
“Good insight.”
Precisely. The one who had sent Stella flying was none other than Stella herself.
First, he took an enemy’s attack with his blade. Then he would take that power and rotate his body as if
drawing a circle, then take the power riding in his body and send it all back as a counter.
“That is the principle of my Third Secret Sword, Madoka.”
Even among Ikki’s many secret techniques, this one stood out with its difficulty.
If even a slight error was made in reading the enemy’s power and timing, his body would be shaken
about, causing a fatal moment of weakness.
It was a delicate technique such that even with Ikki’s skill and perfect concentration, there was still a risk
of failure.
That’s why, besides his bout with Runner’s High, he had come thus far without using it in battle.
“Thanks to my copying of Twin Wings’ swordplay, the precision of my body control has grown
exponentially. This would have been impossible for me at the time you transferred here, but now I can
even counter a sword of your caliber head on."

[Ikki's first Madoka, easily counteracting and sending back a full power attack from Stella]
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Ikki was most definitely at his peak performance.
His eyes could see the hairs on Stella’s cheek despite the distance between them.
His ears could accurately distinguish the flow of his own blood.
He understood the flexion of every muscle fiber in his body.
His skin could feel dust blowing against it with such acuity that he could count the specks, as if his nerves
were bare.
In this condition, he felt invincible.

[P E A K  P E R F O R M A N C E gives Ikki super senses I guess]
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“Tear him to pieces! Satan Fang!”
She spurred on Lævateinn’s raging flame dragons.
“Fighter Stella isn’t a fan of Ikki’s approach attempt! She is countering with the long range attack we saw
in her bout with the Sword Emperor of Wind!”
The dragons blaze shone brilliantly in the battlefield and rushed towards Ikki to rip him apart with
jagged teeth.
Seven heads bared giant jaws at him as the approached.
However, even as that nightmarish scene unfolded before him, didn’t slow his charge at all.
(That’s an overwhelming technique, but it’s a little on the slow side if she wants to catch me!)
In fact, far from slowing down, just as the seven heads descended upon him...
He sped up.
Even as he charged forward, he weaved among the draconic heads, leaving them in the dust.
He’d seen Satan Fang once during her battle with Ouma.
He knew Stella would respond with it.
That’s why he had maintained his speed.
The flame dragons couldn't respond to their prey's sudden acceleration.
The seven heads crashed into each other and vanished.

[Ikki avoiding another AoE tracking attack]
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Seeing Satan Fang fail to bring down Ikki, Stella prepared for close combat.
“Empress Dress!”
She wreathed her entire body in blazing flame and stepped towards the incoming Ikki.
The plan was to use the radiant heat of the flame to achieve superiority at close range.
(If I use Twin Wings’ body movement to step in and out of range incessantly, then Empress Dress is not a
major threat. In fact, I’m grateful that she decided to come towards me!)

[Empress Dress, which clads Stella's body in flame hot enough to instantly melt bullets (before all her power up that increased her strength by tens of times) isn't a threat to Ikki despite him having no flame resistance]
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What she unleashed was...
(A straight thrust towards my throat with the smallest motion possible.)
“!!!”
Stella’s expression stiffened.
Quite understandable.
The enemy had taken the tip of her thrust with the tip of his own blade, a rather acrobatic move.
Ikki then took the impact he’d taken through Intetsu and, as if drawing a circle, brought it around by
spinning his body.
With a sweeping horizontal strike that carried all the force from Stella’s blow, he struck Lævateinn in the
side.
With terrific power, the strike turned Stella’s device away easily.
In that instant, Stella was defenseless.
Ikki did not overlook this opportunity, driving home a triple strike even faster than Moroboshi’s
Sanrensei.
「R- right here, Another One’s blade has reached Crimson Princess!」
He stabbed at her right shoulder, left side of her chest, and her solar plexus. Each landed nicely.
Still, even with a blow that would normally be fatal, no significant damage was dealt to Stella.
The overwhelming magic power Stella harbored in her would not be pierced by Intetsu like that.
It had just missed scraping her skin, but the shock sent Stella’s upper body reeling.
However, with no damage dealt, Stella would not flinch.

[Ikki perfectly countering Stella's thrust, stealing Moroboshi's sanrensei, and then showing how much stronger Stella is through being unable to deal damage with direct attacks]
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However, with no damage dealt, Stella would not flinch.
(Her response will be to increase Empress Dress’ output to create an area attack)
“Haaaa!!!”
Stella counterattacked immediately.
She increased the intensity of Empress Dress in order to force Ikki out of close range.
However, by the time Stella inflamed Empress Dress, Ikki had read her intent and already pulled out of
close range.
From there he accelerated and leapt into the middle of the flames, and as he passed Stella, he sliced at
her torso.
With his top speed he executed a quick hit and run.
By moving at such speed, he avoided the flames’ touch.
Ikki repeated this slashing attack three times, toying with Stella.

[Ikki dancing in and out of AoE flames somehow and landing attacks all the while]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Thus, once Stella determined that Empress Dress was no longer effective against Ikki, she cancelled it.
She gathered magic power in Lævateinn.
But that was the instant Ikki was aiming for!
“Ku, Ah!”
「Fighter Kurogane! No sooner than Empress Dress is extinguished, he closes on Stella! A powerful blow
lands! Some blood is flying from Fighter Stella’s head!」
This was no dashing strike, but a powerful blow with Ikki standing his ground and putting his weight in it.
Using his full power, which had been improved by Twin Wings’ technique, he was still not able to take
Stella down through her magical defense, but for the first time, he managed to inflict visible damage on
her.

[ES can make Ikki's attacks hit harder, going from no damage to... some damage]
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Stella retaliated with a slash even as she recoiled from the blow, but it was in vain and her blade found
only empty space.
「Th- this is...!」
「Oi oi, is this for real?」
「No way...」
Even though they were at the same distance, only Ikki’s attack had landed.
None of the spectators understood this implausible situation.
He was overwhelming her.
The F-ranked Worst One was overwhelming A-ranked Crimson Princess.
「What is going on? Both should have been in effective range! Only Fighter Kurogane’s strike lands,
while Fighter Stella’s longsword finds only empty space! Nothing is going well for Fighter Stella in close
range! It's one sided! She is being unilaterally pushed back by Fighter Ikki! This is an unbelievable sight!
Fighter Ikki’s dominance at close range is well established, but still... To think that there was such a
difference!」
「She may have gotten too close to Fighter Ikki. Fighter Ikki’s Perfect Vision can even track the
movements of invisible enemies. Since they are lovers, this is not their first time facing each
other. The more time you spend together, the more you know. I daresay Fighter Ikki is not only 100
steps ahead of Fighter Stella, but that he knows all her timings perfectly.」
「It- It’s that much?」
「Truthfully, Ikki begins his evasions before Fighter Stella swings. He evades just enough, with not even
an extra millimeter of movement, showing unparalleled accuracy in his defensive movement. He won’t
be getting hit. There should be no way.」

[Ikki rolling Stella at CQC]
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That level of analysis would be inadequate for this match, was what Kaieda said.
「B-but, Fighter Stella has that trump card she crushed the Sword Emperor of Wind with, Dragon Spirit.
」
「Haven’t you noticed? Fighter Ikki has been boldly attacking her since the match started. Even when
Fighter Stella clad herself in Empress Dress, he didn’t relent, giving her no time to perform the motion
for Dragon Spirit, stabbing herself in the chest with her device. He has been suppressing her from the
start.」
「Ah...」
「If she tries to use Dragon Spirit anyway, in close range Fighter Ikki’s Ittou Rasetsu will be far faster. At
any rate, even if she can continue to take Fighter Ikki’s fierce attacks, her opponent is Another One.
Even if these individual attacks don’t do damage, eventually he will find a fatal weakness and break
through it with Ittou Rasetsu.」

[Ikki has experience with not letting opponents use attacks that need preparation or windups]
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Watching the match from somewhere else was Akatsuki’s chairman.Tsukikage felt the same thing.
“Sir?”
“So Tsukikage-sama felt it too?”
Tsukikage nodded in response to Charlotte, Rinna Kazamatsuri’s maid.
“Yeah. At first glance it seems like Kurogane-kun is pressuring... But it just looks to me like he doesn’t
know what else to do.”
“I think so too. From what I can tell, there have been seven chances for fatal strikes if he had used Ittou
Shura or Ittou Rasetsu. And yet... He didn’t.”
“Naturally, he couldn’t.”
Edelweiss, sitting with them in the spectator seats, legs crossed, casually inserted herself into the
conversation.
“Right now, he’s afraid.”
“Afraid?”
Edelweiss nodded at Sara.
“Yes. More accurately, his instincts are.”
And, particularly problematic for Ikki...
“Those warnings from his instincts are completely accurate.”

[Instinct warning him against finishing a fight cus the opponent is hiding a trump card]
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There had already been many such opportunities to use Ittou Rasetsu.
Yet, he hadn’t been able to close it out.
He could see it.
If he prepared himself to take even one step forwards, there would be a dragon waiting, snapping its
jaws open and waiting for its food to jump in.
Ikki knew.
This was... A warning.
It was the instinct Ikki gained from countless times struggling through life and death situations as the
underdog.
His sixth sense sensed the stench of death.

***

“What’s the matter, Ikki? Why aren’t you attacking? I’m leaving nothing but openings.”
With a bewitching expression, she beckoned him as if it was to her bedroom.
However, Ikki didn’t move.
Of course he didn’t.
“Nothing but openings? As if.”
Ever since Stella had opened her arms, the only outcome he could see was that if he took even one step
towards Stella, a dragon would rip him into pieces with its jaws.
Stella sighed with regret at Ikki’s caution.
“How unfortunate. This was my secret plan... In that case, I guess you won’t move how I want no matter
how long I wait.”
“Then... It can’t be helped.”
And in the instant Stella muttered that, the world distorted.

[instinct]
-------------------------------------------------------------
(The first move will be a straight thrust towards my forehead! I’ll counter the same way I did earlier!)
“HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
However, just as Ikki was about counter with Madoka, he saw a vision of his head vanishing.
“!!!!”
Following that instinct, Ikki immediately tilted his neck to the right.
Instantly, wind pressure like that of a passing cannonball assaulted his eardrums.
(The air next to my face just disappeared...! What an incredible thrust...!)
It was faster than he’d expected, and far stronger. It was a thrust that blew away even the atmosphere.

[more precog instinct]
----------------------------------------------------------
There he returned to Seigan no Kamae[4].
Right now he needed information more than anything else, so he needed to slow down the match and
defend without using Madoka and gather data on Stella.
「Fighter Kurogane has been stopped! Of course, Fighter Stella won’t let him escape! Her dance-like
attack is fierce and splendid, a strike with her full weight! It’s an onslaught! Literally a flaming barrage!
But her opponent is Another One! Even as the fierce attacks trample the stage he endures! He has it
under control!」
Ikki took the powerful swings with his single thin blade.
He released the shock into the ground with his legs, not even forced to use his entire body.
It was a superb defense, to fend off Stella’s herculean strength.
Bringing down Ikki while he was on the defensive was difficult.
In the meantime, Ikki was getting a grasp on Stella’s current strength.

[The slow form he used against Moroboshi also works against Stella]
-----------------------------------------------------------
Lævateinn found only air and as its force continued and struck the ground-
The ground ripped.
「S- Scathing! As soon as Fighter Stella’s longsword hit the ground, fissures opened in the ring all the
way to the audience seats! What power!」
Seeing the crevasse that extended all the way to the audience demanded the attention of all in the
arena.
Even Ikki shuddered, his breath taken away at the sight of those scars in the ground.
Calculating based on the destruction, the power of the slash far exceeded Ikki’s expectation again.
Just like the first time.
However, there was a crucial difference.
In the second time, Ikki had observed Stella to measure her specs and as he sought to turn the fight with
Madoka, her attack’s power increased.
More power, to overcome Ikki.
She was developing. In the middle of the match.

[Stella's dragon power is increasing in the middle of the match]
------------------------------------------------------------
Stella abruptly reversed her grip on Lævateinn.
“Dragon’s Nest!!!”
She stabbed the ground with all her might.
Blinding light erupted from the countless fissures in the arena, before crimson effusion tore up the ring.
「Kyaaaaaa!」
「H- Hot!」
「Isn’t this a bit much...!?.」
The cries of the crowd reverberated throughout the arena.
It wasn’t just them.
“Oi oi... There should be a limit to how absurd this gets.”
“...This is astonishing.”
Even magical knights of Kurono and Saikyou’s caliber were dumbfounded by Stella’s sheer power.
But even that was expected.
「I, I can’t believe this! Of all things, Fighter Stella has melted the ring’s floor!」
Just as the commentators reported, Stella had used Dragon’s Breath directly on the ground and turned
the ground into a sea of magma.
The only remaining footing within the sea of magma was scattered slabs of reinforced stone.
But even those were melting, with small shards being engulfed by the magma.
It wouldn’t even be ten minutes before all the slabs finished melting.
If that happened there would be nowhere to step, and Ikki, who had no resistance to flame, would
automatically lose.

[Stella's fire is hot enough to instantly melt the hyper-reinforced ring (100m diameter btw) into a sea of magma]
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The strike, which hit Ikki like a superheated cannonball, punched through his abs in one hit and
shattered his ribs. Not only that, the heat scorched his insides.
That was far more damage than the human body could take.
“Geh, eh, a....”
With that one body shot, Ikki Kurogane’s consciousness faded.
Ikki vomited a mixture of blood and vomit, and his body shuddered.
He didn’t fully collapse, but the light had already left his eyes.
His consciousness was gone.
It was a completely hopeless situation.
Stella grasped the situation.
(I got him!)
She raised the fist that delivered the final blow.
In order to reach the Seven Stars Summit,
In order to surpass the one who she’d be chasing,
She’d put her all into that blow...!
And then a blade reacted, as if just passing by, cutting through flesh and bone alike.
Blood redder than the magma dampened the floating slab they stood on.
That blood was hot enough to be on fire.
“Eh...?”
It could be no one else.
That was the Crimson Princess Stella Vermillion’s, dragon’s blood.
◆◇◆◇◆
「「「OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!」」」
「A C-Counterattack! Just as we thought the match was decided! An impossible counterattack from
Fighter Kurogane, who we thought to be in a hopeless situation! He cleaved her diagonally from below!
What a reversal!」
「It’s Ma, Madoka! The impact of Fighter Stella’s attack was returned by his ingrained swordsmanship! I
can’t believe it! He could still do something in that state!」
“Gah, Haa!”
「Fighter Stella has dropped to her knees! Boiling hot blood is spilling onto the white stone! This
amount of blood is not normal!」
(This damage is... Not good...!)
While pressing down entrails that threatened to spill out, Stella moaned.

***

A single question filled her head.
Why?
He should have been knocked unconscious.
Not just then. Even now, Ikki should not have recovered his consciousness.
So then, why had he been able to retaliate with Madoka?
She didn’t understand.
While Stella was confused by this mystery, Ikki finally regained his consciousness in front of her.
“...”
At first he was surprised by the sight of an injured Stella retreated some distance away.
(...Did I do that?...)
He’d been unconscious, but the feeling of having cut Stella remained in his hand.
While he was unconscious, he had countered in the best way he could.
That feeling, of having used Madoka to recover from a helpless situation, remained in his body.

**

Ikki kicked the ground powerfully, jumping off his island.
His goal was not the island where the injured Stella lay, but the particularly large slab in floating in the
middle of the sea of magma.
There, he stopped and took a deep breath.
「Th-th-this is! This light is...!」
「O, oi, no way!」
「This-」
A blue glow slowly arose from Another One’s body.
The entire stadium was astir.
Naturally. There was almost no mistaking it.
The emanating magic power’s ferocity, that radiance, it was his treasured once a day trump card.
Using this meant Ikki would try to decide the match.

[Ikki takes a hit that broke all his ribs and scorched his organs, KO'ing him but somehow keeps on fighting while unconscious. Also Madoka feat. Keeps fighting normally after taking that hit]
--------------------------------------------------------------
To defeat that opponent, every cell of their being was roused.
“Taaaaah!”
“!”
Taking Stella’s thunderous strikes made numbness run down Ikki’s arms.
(Her counterattacks are gradually getting faster!)
Madoka was a technique that took the shock absorbed by the sword and returned it by turning it
through the body.
However, while exchanging these countless blows, Stella’s slashes grew gradually faster, and his body
was starting to be unable to cycle the force in time.
She was growing.
Within the fierce exchange, Stella’s body and blade were changing at a terrific pace, in order to surpass
Ikki.
At this rate, she would overtake him with the next blow.
However-
(I too am growing right now!)
“Oooooooooooohhh!”
“...!”
Suddenly, a counterattack, with a flash of black and accompanied by a great shout, left Stella’s eyes
open in surprise.
Why?
Ikki’s attack pattern had changed.
(Just now, he didn’t turn his body...!)
Up until now, after taking an attack from Stella, Ikki would spin like a top and immediately return the
blow.
That’s how he’d been dealing with Stella’s powerful blows.
But now, Ikki was answering not with defense, but his own attacks.
In other words, this was no longer attack and defense, it was simply attacks clashing.
Normally, such a situation would be completely in Stella’s favor.
For Stella to lose in a match in power was unimaginable.
However, that unimaginable outcome was happening now.
In this clash of offensive power, Stella’s blade was being pushed back ever so slightly.
Why.
There was one reason.
As Stella’s own arms received numbing blows, she understood.
It was Madoka.
In this high speed battle, Ikki felt the spinning Madoka he’d used up til now start to fall behind, and
quickly revised his technique.
Instead of spinning his entire body to cycle the force, he used his upper body muscle control to cycle the
force through his back muscles and channel that force into his next attack.
To do that, he couldn’t be stiff anywhere in his body.
If he stiffened anywhere, the force he absorbed would explode there.
He had to relax as much as he could, so that the muscles in his body were almost fluid.
Even more deeply relaxed than as if he were asleep.
In the middle of that high speed clash.
Stella shuddered at the sight of the man capable of doing that.
What an guy. He was incredible.
As Ikki’s Madoka evolved, the battle grew ever more fierce.
No more attack and defense, just the clash of attacks.
Neither side defended, both simply answered full power attacks with full power attacks.

[Stella getting stronger and faster again during the fight. Ikki revises Madoka in the middle of a heated exchange to do some bullshit and be able to counter the hits instantly instead of having to spin, and of course it can be spammed]
---------------------------------------------------------------
Without taking a single step back, their devices clashed faster and more powerfully.
In order to defeat such opponents, they had to get faster and stronger.
Limitless improvement. Ascending to the top. Most likely, had they never met their counterparts, they
wouldn’t have realized their potential within even decades.
In this moment, the two certainly felt that.
That’s why they would go. The two of them. To the heights of knighthood.
They were fulfilling the promise they made that day.

[Stella (and Ikki) improving decades worth within the fight, so Stella's strikes are far, far above everything she scales with before]
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Page 180 of 284
“No way, did he hit Ittou Shura’s limit?”
Then,
“That’s not it.”
Moroboshi flatly denied that thought.
As one of the strongest people in the nation, he saw far more than those two did.
“Ittou Shura is still going. His movement hasn’t grown sluggish. It’s relative.”
“By relative, you mean...”
“Kurogane suddenly couldn’t keep up with the princess’ movement anymore...!”
And seeing this development,
“So it’s finally come, huh.”
Edelweiss said in a lamenting tone.
This is exactly the result that she had predicted.
“Do you know? Why their struggle broke off...”
Sara’s hand stopped sketching to ask, to which Edelweiss responded.
“If I had to say... It’s fate.”
“F- fate...?”
“A Blazer’s magic power is determined at birth.
Those who shoulder a great fate have power to match.
Magic power is the power that surpasses logic and the power to change the world.
That also means that what you’ll be able to do in this world is determined at birth.
They were improving each other at terrific speed just now.
They just made decades worth of progress walking a path in an instant.
And the result... Another One has arrived.
At the limits of his potential, that is.”

[Magic power determines fate here, Ikki maxes his out in the fight (additional confirmation of decades worth of progress)]
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page 184 - salamandra thing
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During his melee with Stella, those black chains suddenly appeared.
Ikki understood their true nature.
These chains were his fate.
Of course. It couldn’t be anything but himself.
He understood that well.
This cave-like place where light didn’t even shine would be the farthest he went.
This hole in the earth was certainly befitting of an F rank.
This body didn’t have the right to go any farther.
The chains of fate wordlessly held him back with their weight.

***

In an instant, as Ikki took one more step forward with his right foot, the chains shattered-
And that world of darkness gave way to light
----------------------------------------------------------------
Suddenly, every gaze in the dome gathered on that scar in the back screen seating.
The debris there had suddenly been launched as if bursting, cut into small pieces.
「「「Naaaaaaah」」」
As the blackened rubble flew up, blue light shot out like an arrow, striking the large island Stella stood
on.

[Ikki cutting apart rubble]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Magic power wasn’t something that increased.
Magic power was logic-defying power to change the world.
It was the fateful power to carve out meaning for oneself in the world.
That’s why it was determined at birth.
Consequently, one’s fate was determined even before birth.
That was humanity’s prevailing view on magic power.
It was common sense for magic knights.
「But this...! The only explanation is that his magic power increased!」
What was happening before their eyes transcended that common sense.
Mysterious, confusing, and baffling.
Everyone there had the same response as Kaieda.

[Desperado stuff, Ikki magic power go up, fuck you fate]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
It began to change Stella’s silhouette.
The light and heat she proceeded to emit surpassed everything she had shown.
Forget lighting the night, Stella lit the surroundings like midday, and set the sea of magma boiling again.
But even more than the heat and light, the spectators could feel another change in Stella.
They sensed she was drawing something in.
It wasn’t their imagination. The small rubbish and rubble was being drawn in by Stella and the light.
The phenomenon was quickly recognized by the user of Gravity Manipulation, Nene Saikyou.
It was gravitational force.
(The gargantuan amount of heat energy has warped the space, causing attraction...!)
As soon as any rubbish and rubble got close to Stella, there would be a flash of light like lightning, and it
would disappear, leaving nothing behind. That heat turned anything that touched it into plasma with a
spray of liquid and gas.
That existence was basically a planet.
Having gravity, emitting light, a glittering crimson star.
(Wow, what a woman...)
Stella’s power left Kurono speechless too.

[Stella's fire so strong it has its own gravity and instantly turns things to plasma]
------------------------------------------------------------
So she just had to go forwards.
Having decided this, Stella raised her heat until her body was on the verge of being extinguished,
cladding herself with armor of light and heat.
The heat was so strong that even a Device would scatter the moment it felt it.
Ikki’s blade could no longer reach that.
If Intetsu ever touched Stella’s radiance, it would be destroyed

[Stella's fire amour so strong that a device would scatter upon contact. Stella's normal fire is 3000 degrees in chapter one, tens of times more potent in dragon form against Ouma, and likely twice that much due to the decades worth of progress she made. Probably around sun temp if not hotter (considering it was said she could go that hot against Amane). Kuraudo's device tanked a missile which can reach millions of degrees of heat]
---------------------------------------------------------------
It was bottomless natural ability.
And now, Stella was leaving it all up to that natural ability.
(She wants to use this heat so powerful it warped the space, and blast away Intetsu as soon as they
touch.)
The power to do that resided in Stella’s entire body.
So what to do?
It was obvious.
He just had to strike faster than Intetsu can be reflected.
There was no other way.

[Stella's heat actively warps space, Ikki can still approach and attack through it cus skill I guess]
--------------------------------------------------------------
Ikki wanted to defeat her with his speed before her heat could blast his sword away.
Even though he had no scabbard, this stance had all the necessary components.
The crux was the left hand grabbing the blade.
The sword was pulled by the right hand, and held back by the left.
Doing so recreated the effect of the scabbard holding back the blade trying to arc out, and the between
the two opposing forces, power accumulated.
The speed brought forth by the release of this power was magnitudes greater than what a normal swing
could generate.
Another One already boasted slashes so fast they were difficult to see.
Stella could not imagine how fast they would be if he utilized Iai.
It was quite possible that his blade would cut her down before she could blast it away.

[Ikki's Iai (even without a scabbard) is faster than his ES style of fighting to an apparently unimaginable extent]
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It was Ikki, swinging his sword- The black shadow below him.
It. Wasn’t. Moving.
Even though Ikki was preparing to swing at Stella, his shadow was just staying still-
No, not quite.
It was moving, but like a bad impersonation, its movements lagged behind.
Stella tried to guess at why Ikki’s own shadow couldn’t keep up with his movements.
Was that even possible..
No way.
That shouldn’t happen.
But by and by, more people noticed this impossible phenomenon.
They watched the spectacle.
Being one with his sword, believing in his sword, surpassing his limits to arrive here...
Even his own shadow could not keep up with this strike’s extreme speed.
He was the concept of a slash incarnate.
The goal of so many people, the peak they pursued.
This final strike, combining the phenomenon and the awe it inspired, would be called thusly by people:
Final secret sword- Oikage.

[Uhhhhh..... light speed through skill?]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Touka informed those two.
“It was Battou-jutsu.”
She had been just barely able to see what had happened in the instant they clashed.
“So then... Kind of like your Raikiri?”
Touka had to say no to Utakata’s question.
“No, while my Raikiri is also Battou-jutsu[8], the mechanism at work is different. My Raikiri uses
electromagnetism to maintain speed, but Kurogane-kun just used something unexpected to fill the
crucial purpose a sheath usually does. He grasped his blade of his sword tightly enough to hold the
power like a sheath would, and achieve speed and power a normal slash could not. In simple terms, the
mechanism is like flicking your finger.”
“Ah, I see.”
Utakata indicated his understanding of that explanation.
A finger would fly silently no matter how hard you swung it, but if you held it back with the thumb and
gathered power before releasing it, you could hear it whoosh through the air sharply.
Ikki had put that effect to use in his last attack.
“But Prez, no matter how fast he swings his sword, if you consider the difference in reach of their
devices, Stella’s sword should hit first. How did Kurogane-kun make up for the difference in reach?”
“Kana-chan. You will see the answer if you look at the handle of Intetsu.”
Kanata focused on Ikki in the ring.
Then she realized.
The black sword he held in his hand.
The handle was unusually short, having been broken to the point where Ikki’s pinky didn’t have any
handle to grasp.
“That, no way... Did it get dissolved!?”
“Yes. In the instant they crossed, before Stella’s sword reached him, Ikki drew his sword. With just that,
the difference in reach would have still caused him to take the attack first. So Ikki-kun swung with the
handle first instead of the blade, using the end of the handle to strike Lævateinn.”
“So with that he diverted the trajectory of her stab...!”
“Executing such a strategy so fast it couldn’t even be seen... What a man.”
“Really, what a crazy guy...”
In that blink of an eye, he had come up with and executed both attack and defense.
The way he handled a sword was in another dimension.

[How he did Oikage, also Ikki used attack and defence in that slash]
------------------------------------------------------
“To think that someone so young would achieve Brute Soul...”
She wasn’t whether sure whether she should be happy about that.
Living within your fate meant that while you were a prisoner of your fate, you were also protected by it.
There was definitely happiness to be found within one’s means.
Anyone who wanted to live peacefully would definitely not step into such a domain.
Actually, while she had entered that domain, she knew a knight that had turned back of their own will.
But Ikki hadn’t stopped.
He had stepped in. Ignored the warnings of the gods.
Outside of fate. The domain of demonic beings.
(With that one step, Another One became a being that existed outside the cause and effect of this
world.)
An existence that rewrote the world’s future instead of tracing fate.
In other words...
“Those two may have the power to destroy the future of despair that you saw. Your dedication wasn’t
for naught”
Edelweiss smiled at Tsukikage.

[Ikki exists outside of cause and effect]
--------------------------------------------------------------