Lucas and Caesar stared at Fortore's opponent's sword with eyes full of excitement and, above all, curiosity.
"Ooooo… So this is the Shooting Stars sword Emeralda told me about…" said the Hero of Leore, his voice expressing nothing but pure, refined interest.
Lucas's actual thought at that moment, however, was far simpler.
'That's so cool!!!!!!'
Unfortunately, such a crude expression wasn't something he could say aloud right then.
Even though those words never left his mouth, Aislyra seemed to understand perfectly what her big sister was thinking. A satisfied smile appeared on her face.
Aislyra had already explained Brasto's unusual fighting style to Lucas, but she had evidently chosen not to mention Shooting Stars. Probably because, by now, she knew perfectly well how much Lucas loved surprises. It was only a small gesture, but Lucas was undoubtedly grateful for it. So, for the moment, he offered her a brief but sincere 'thank you' only in his mind.
"So he managed to activate it before Fo could defeat him…" Aislyra said, her eyes fixed on the arena. "Honestly, I wasn't sure whether he'd make it in time, especially because Fortore is a terrible matchup for Brasto."
She crossed her arms.
"Brasto is much better against opponents who are physically far stronger than he is but whose speed is at least somewhat close to his own—someone like me. Fortore is almost the exact opposite. Physically, he might be slightly weaker than Brasto, but he's overwhelmingly faster."
Aislyra smiled.
"And unfortunately for Brasto, Fortore is practically the perfect example of that kind of fighter. Still, I suppose I should've expected this. No matter how many years pass, that old man never stops surprising me."
There was obvious excitement in the silver-haired elf's voice at how unpredictable the battle had become, but also something deeper: genuine pride in her old rival.
Back in the arena, Fortore's expression had become even more irritated now that his Infernal Steam had literally been cut apart, confirming his suspicions. And for the first time, the captain of the Royal Knights was also looking at Brasto with unmistakable focus.
He finally completed the sentence he had started earlier.
"A blade of pure mana…"
Brasto returned the bright blue blade to its normal length, then deactivated Fire Resistance and Heat Resistance. With Hellish Steam gone, keeping those spells active would only waste mana.
"Exactly, Mr. Knight!" Brasto replied, confidence practically pouring from every word. "The central blade of Shooting Stars is made of pure mana, with no elemental property added to it."
His grin widened.
"And judging from your reaction, you already know what that means. So I'm sorry, but I won't waste time explaining!"
Brasto vanished from Fortore's view once again.
Using the same movement technique as before, he appeared behind the knight and immediately swung Shooting Stars toward his back.
But this was already the second time Brasto had attempted such a surprise attack. Even though Fortore still couldn't properly follow him while he moved, the trick had lost most of its surprise. The instant Brasto's presence registered to even one of his senses, Fortore reacted without difficulty. With speed and grace, the leader of the Royal Knights spun around and leaped backward, avoiding the mana blade with a single bound of several meters.
Or at least, Fortore initially believed he had avoided it.
The central blade suddenly extended. This time, it lengthened much faster than before.
Thanks only to his superhuman reflexes, Fortore barely managed to turn his face aside before the glowing blade pierced straight through it.
The blade instantly returned to its original length.
Fortore's elegant, confident smile remained on his face for another couple of seconds.
Then he felt something warm sliding down his cheek.
His smile disappeared.
Slowly, Fortore touched his cheek with one hand and looked at his fingers.
Red.
Blood.
For the first time in several months, someone had made him bleed.
In truth, the injury was insignificant. The sight was almost absurdly small compared with the violence of the battle: a thin red line on the cheek of the kingdom's strongest knight. Yet, judging from Fortore's expression, Brasto might as well have carved a mortal wound across his pride.
The mana blade of Shooting Stars had only grazed his cheek.
But the location of the wound made it unacceptable. His face was one of the parts of his body that the girl seemed to appreciate most.
'Unforgivable!'
"Die, old man."
Fortore's voice was so cold that the arena's air—scorching hot only moments earlier—seemed to freeze.
A chill ran down the spines of nearly every spectator.
Instantly, Fortore appeared in front of Brasto and swung his Steam Blade, clearly intending to cut the old adventurer in two.
But in his anger, Fortore had forgotten something important.
Brasto was no longer suffering from Hellish Steam. He also no longer needed to spend mana maintaining his heat-resistance spells. For an adventurer with stamina that seemed almost limitless, it was as though the match had returned to its opening moments. Of course, Brasto still had the wound in his abdomen. But throughout his long life, he had continued fighting through injuries far worse than that. Just as he had said earlier, a wound like this was little more than a scratch to him.
So, although Fortore's sudden burst of speed surprised him slightly, Brasto still reacted.
Without too much difficulty—but deliberately waiting until the last possible instant—he positioned Shooting Stars exactly where he knew Fortore's Steam Blade would strike.
In the fraction of a second before the two blades collided, Fortore understood his mistake. His fury had made him forget something obvious. And by the time he realized it, it was too late to change swords.
The Steam Blade collided with Falling Stars.
Unlike when Brasto's weapon had still been wrapped in bandages, the scalding blade of vapor did not pass through it. Instead, the normally intangible blade was cut apart.
Then it vanished completely.
Fortore's attack had not merely been blocked.
It had been erased.
And in the same movement, Brasto's defense became a counterattack. The pure-mana blade of Shooting Stars continued toward Fortore's body.
More specifically, toward his face.
Fortore absolutely refused to allow that.
With a sudden burst of speed in his arms, he brought up his ordinary sword and placed it between his face and the incoming mana blade.
This time, the collision resembled a much more traditional clash between swords.
"The Shooting Stars sword…" Luvrio murmured from the stands. "I'd heard stories about it, but this is the first time I've ever seen it used."
A hint of genuine amazement entered his voice.
"Brasto really is incredible. In my entire life, even with the help of some kind of tool like the one he's using, I've never seen anyone give pure mana a stable physical form without adding an element to it."
Lucas immediately understood why Luvrio considered that so extraordinary.
Katerina had already explained the problem to him.
Pure mana was almost impossible to maintain in a stable form after it left the body. If someone simply released mana without shaping it through a spell, it would disperse into the air almost immediately. With intense concentration, a skilled person could create small luminous spheres resembling bubbles. But those spheres possessed no true physical form. Even someone with exceptional mana control could sustain them for only a few seconds before they dissipated.
"Although the mana forming that blade isn't actually coming from Brasto's body, is it?" Caesar asked, remembering what had happened immediately before Shooting Stars activated.
Sequoria nodded.
"Exactly, Hero Caesar. Shooting Stars was forged by Luciano Wayland, the finest artisan and blacksmith in the Kingdom of Leore."
Her voice carried elegant enthusiasm.
"The weapon cannot use its wielder's own mana to activate itself. That is precisely why Brasto couldn't simply activate it at the beginning of the match."
She gestured toward the sword.
"For Shooting Stars to awaken, every bandage wrapped around it must first be destroyed. As those bandages are struck and broken apart, they absorb the kinetic energy produced by their collisions with other objects."
"When enough energy has been accumulated, every remaining piece of bandage detaches. Then, at the wielder's command, the stored kinetic energy is converted into pure mana."
Sequoria continued, clearly enjoying the explanation.
"Once Shooting Stars opens, all of that mana converges inside the gap at the center of the weapon and forms a third blade made entirely of pure mana. In theory, whoever holds the sword can control the blade however they wish."
She paused and looked toward Brasto.
"In practice, however, I'm almost certain that anyone other than Brasto would find that literally impossible."
Everyone in the royal cabin listened carefully.
"The precision required to control mana at that level, even simply maintaining the blade's basic shape for a few seconds, is extraordinary. Among every fighter I know or have known, Brasto is the only person I believe capable of doing it."
Her expression became almost reverent.
"And the fact that he can maintain that control for several hours without his brain practically exploding is beyond incredible. It may genuinely be unique in the entire recorded history of this continent."
Silence filled the royal cabin.
Sequoria's authority on history, not merely the history of Yggdora, but of the entire continent, was well known and deeply respected.
For that reason, everyone present remained quiet for several seconds. They realized they might be witnessing something truly unique. Something people before them had never seen. And perhaps something those who came after them would never see again.
Sequoria observed their expressions with a gentle, motherly smile before turning back toward Caesar.
"And, Hero Caesar, I don't know whether they taught you this at the palace in Leore, since it's usually regarded as rather useless knowledge, but pure mana can produce certain special effects when given physical form."
The ancient Roman general shook his head.
"No. I admit no one explained that to me."
Then he smiled courteously.
"Although, after seeing what that mana blade just did, I believe I've already formed a reasonable theory. Still, refusing an explanation offered by a woman as wise and beautiful as you would be something I could never forgive myself for."
Caesar inclined his head.
"So please continue, Lady Sequoria."
A small smile appeared on Sequoria's face.
"Thank you, Hero Caesar. I'll gladly do so."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"There are mainly two effects, and can Shooting Stars can make use of both."
She raised one finger.
"The first is the one you have already seen. If solid pure mana is shaped into even a slightly sharp edge, it can cut through spells."
Several people glanced back toward the arena.
"It doesn't matter how powerful or durable the spell is. If it comes into contact with a blade made of pure mana, the spell itself is severed and immediately disappears."
Sequoria explained calmly.
"That happens because the pure mana blade cuts through the mana holding the spell's structure together. Once that structure is broken, the spell can no longer maintain its form."
Everyone nodded.
They had just watched Shooting Stars do exactly that to both Hellish Steam and Steam Blade.
Sequoria raised a second finger.
"The second effect is different. Pure mana can also deflect a spell without destroying it."
She continued, "But unlike cutting a spell with a sharp edge, this requires a flat surface. And the spell doesn't simply bounce away just because it touches solid mana."
"The flat surface has to strike the spell with enough force to counter the momentum with which the spell itself is moving. If that is achieved, the spell can be redirected instead of destroyed."
Sequoria looked back toward Fortore.
"Although I doubt that particular property will be very useful against Fortore. Most of his spells are either designed for close-range combat or affect a large area."
The former queen finished her explanation with a deeply satisfied expression.
Meanwhile, the two blades were still locked together.
Fortore was genuinely astonished.
He should have attacked with the ordinary sword he was currently using to defend himself, damaged though it already was. He knew perfectly well how solid pure mana behaved. Against an ordinary physical object that wasn't created by magic, Brasto's mana blade was essentially no different from an exceptionally well-made sword.
'But it's obvious my brain doesn't function properly when I'm fighting such an uninteresting opponent,' Fortore thought convincing himself. 'So there's no point crying over spilled milk.'
Several seconds later, his nameless sword finally snapped.
But it had accomplished its purpose. The resistance it provided gave Fortore enough time to evade the rest of Brasto's swing.
He immediately retreated several paces.
He had protected himself. But the anger and irritation on his face only continued growing.
"Know this, old codger!" Fortore shouted furiously. "You're the one who forced me to use it!"
He placed one hand on the hilt of the other sword at his waist.
Unlike the nameless blade that had just broken, this sword rested inside a scabbard decorated excessively with gold.
The entire arena fell silent.
Everyone knew exactly which sword Fortore was about to draw.