Chapter 479: A Proud Edelweiss!
Silence.
From Ikki falling, to standing back up, to his second clash with Luke—Very little time had actually passed.
Before the audience could even recover from the previous collision, the true final exchange had already begun.
After the silence came a gradually rising wave of excitement.
Within a few seconds, nearly everyone realized—This time, the match was truly over.
The venue erupted.
Cheers and feverish excitement gradually filled the entire arena.
Truthfully, very few people understood what had happened during that final strike.
Very few indeed.
Only a handful truly understood what that instant represented.
Only the Desperados present and powerful figures like Kurono, who had already touched the Desperado realm, could recognize it for what it was—A clash of the power of fate!
That was right.
Strictly speaking, neither Luke nor Ikki's final technique could still be considered pure swordsmanship.
Contained within them was everything the two had comprehended about the Desperado realm in that brief instant—And their application of the power of fate.
Naturally, the winner was Luke.
He had Edelweiss guiding him and had already learned about the Desperado realm and how to use the power of fate.
It was an overwhelmingly one-sided advantage.
Perhaps that was unfair to Ikki.
But as had already been said—The world had never been fair.
"What an extraordinary young man."
Edelweiss offered heartfelt praise.
And that praise was directed at Ikki.
Ordinary people had no idea what happened at the end.
Even the Desperados sent by various nations could, at most, understand that the final exchange had involved a collision between powers of fate.
But Edelweiss was different.
Only she truly understood why the result had turned out this way.
Noticing Tsukikage-sensei's questioning gaze beside her, Edelweiss quietly explained.
"That boy was called… Kurogane Ikki, right?"
"His final move, Final Secret Sword · Oikage, strictly speaking, can no longer be considered a pure sword technique."
"It isn't something as simple as an extraordinarily fast and powerful strike."
"That technique is the culmination of his entire existence."
"The ultimate art of the Desperado known as Kurogane Ikki."
Edelweiss's voice contained unmistakable admiration.
But mixed into it were also obvious pity—And a faint trace of pride.
In theory, once Final Secret Sword · Oikage was unleashed, there should be no possibility of its killing strike failing.
It connected with the strong independence from fate possessed by a Desperado and forcibly engraved the result of victory into the world's causality and destiny.
The instant the blade began moving—A history of victory that had never existed was carved into the world.
It was a nearly unavoidable strike.
The moment the technique activated, the causal result of "slaying the opponent" was forcibly converged upon reality.
It embodied a Desperado's absolute authority over fate.
Without question—It was a high-level secret technique belonging to the Desperado realm.
A strike capable of severing even fate itself.
"Even for a Desperado like me who has already reached Transcendent Awakening, there would be no way to receive that strike except by opposing it with a far stronger power of fate and concept."
"For an ordinary Desperado, the only practical countermeasure would probably be to prevent him from using it in the first place."
"…That's far more terrifying than I imagined."
Tsukikage spoke in amazement.
But beneath that amazement was also delight.
Because Ikki was a native of this country.
A newly awakened Desperado already possessing such terrifying power would enormously increase Japan's overall strength.
More importantly—Tsukikage now had even greater confidence that the hopeless future he had seen could be overturned.
However, he quickly realized something.
Suppressing his excitement, Tsukikage asked Edelweiss another question.
"But according to your explanation, Luke is also a newly awakened Desperado."
"He shouldn't have been capable of blocking that strike."
"So why did the result…"
Hearing the question, Edelweiss gave a slightly smug smile.
Her soft laughter carried unmistakable pride—And affection.
"Because Luke is special."
Tsukikage froze.
He had just been force-fed a mouthful of public affection without warning.
But that was not actually what Edelweiss meant.
She was simply stating a fact.
"I don't know the reason, but this world's causality and fate have always had great difficulty affecting him."
"Even I would need to expend a tremendous amount of power if I wanted to influence Luke directly through concepts alone."
"And that was before he became a Desperado."
As she spoke, Edelweiss happily tilted her head from side to side.
If anything, she seemed to be getting increasingly proud.
"After becoming a Desperado, he gained considerable resistance by stepping partly outside the fate of the world."
"An ordinary Desperado simply cannot interfere with him now."
"That boy would probably defeat any Desperado below Transcendent Awakening with that technique."
"Even the Crimson Princess would be no exception."
"But unfortunately for him…"
"Luke is special~"
To Edelweiss, Luke's accomplishments were practically her own.
She normally had little interest in something as childish as the Seven Star Sword Art Festival.
But this year had produced three Desperados.
There were also fighters like Ouma, Amane, and Sara, all of whom could rank among the world's strongest.
So the tournament's overall level was actually quite impressive.
Naturally, Edelweiss was extremely pleased.
"I see."
After hearing Edelweiss's explanation, Tsukikage finally understood why the battle had ended that way.
"Even after engraving victory into the world's fate, it still couldn't interfere with Luke."
"So the final exchange was reduced to a pure collision of their powers of fate."
"In Ikki's condition at the time, defeat was inevitable…"
"I already thought Ikki was extraordinary enough."
"To think there was an even greater monster above him."
"Hmm… I suppose that's only fitting for someone capable of winning your heart, Edel."
Tsukikage's final tease made Edelweiss blush slightly.
But she offered no denial.
Instead, she awkwardly changed the subject.
"Those two…"
"No. Including the Crimson Princess, there should be three."
"With Luke and the other two here, the 'hopeless future' you saw will definitely be broken."
"And I'm not the only one who understands how terrifying the performances of these three newly born Desperados truly were."
As she spoke, Edelweiss swept her gaze across the venue.
Her eyes passed over the Desperados who had arrived from every corner of the world.
Even if they could not understand Luke's unique nature, they could still recognize that all three possessed terrifying combat power comparable to veteran Desperados.
Perhaps they were still inferior in mana and realm.
But the abilities they had demonstrated—Their talent—And especially their terrifying growth speed—Were already more than enough to attract the attention of those standing at the summit of the world.
With Edelweiss present, none of them dared act recklessly today.
But among them, there were undoubtedly people who had already engraved the names of those three into their memories.
Future opponents whose paths would inevitably collide.
"Everyone must already be convinced."
"With the birth of these three, this world is destined to enter an entirely new future."
At Edelweiss's words, Tsukikage quietly closed his eyes.
Only after a long while did he finally speak, sounding as though an enormous burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
"…If that's true, then nothing could be more reassuring."
A future created by this new generation—Surely it would be countless times better than the one he had once "seen."
Hopefully…
No.
It would surely become a beautiful world—
One filled with kindness and light.
…
…
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