All he needed to do—was reach his own limit.
With that sudden clarity, Ikki Kurogane awakened.
Yes.
Because he had been fixated on defeating Eiji, his mindset had gradually become unstable.
The crushing pressure upon him had turned into a heavy burden—convincing him that he had to win.
But this was supposed to be a duel between swordsmen.
A sacred clash decided by the blades in their hands—nothing more. Letting outside thoughts cloud his heart... only dulled his blade.
Stella had seen through it. Or rather, she couldn't bear to watch him continue forcing himself—so she cried out to him. And in that moment, Ikki let go of the obsession with victory.
Instead, he poured everything into climbing beyond his own limits.
And so—he unleashed it.
Ittou Rasetsu.
A true and complete technique that injected every last ounce of life force into a single slash.
After that blow, he would be utterly drained—left with not even the strength to resist. Even a child could strike him down.
But at that moment, he didn't care.
The aftermath no longer mattered—only reaching the peak in that instant.
A move he had never used before—not once.
But in this battle with Eiji, the desire to go beyond, to do something—led him to this breakthrough.
And in truth—it was the perfect counter to Eiji.
If he could just exceed Eiji's speed in a single blow—then the match would be decided right there.
But the method was risky.
Zero margin for error.
Because no one—not even Ikki—knew the true limit of Eiji's speed. If Eiji surpassed him instead, then for the utterly exhausted Ikki, the match would be over.
A gamble of the highest order.
Within one strike—victory or defeat. Nothing in between.
And in that instant—
Silver and black blades became brilliant meteors, trailing arcs of light as they collided in a space where sound and color had vanished—total, deathly stillness.
The clash was so fast—no one could see it.
And what happened after... collapsing, unconsciousness, even death—anything was possible.
Even Ikki and Eiji themselves could no longer control the blades they held—they had surpassed the limits of human grasp.
All that remained—was the will to charge forward, unyielding.
No restraint. No fear. All-out attack!
The two crossed paths.
The entire arena fell deathly silent. The crowd stared wide-eyed, not daring to even breathe.
An overwhelming shockwave erupted—like a tsunami of wind, whipping up coats and dust, a burst so violent it seemed to scatter even the clouds on the horizon.
"Junior Brother…"
Touka gripped the guardrail, fingers digging in deep—but she didn't notice. Her eyes were locked on Eiji, trembling with tension.
Kanata, too, let go of her parasol without realizing. Her gaze never left that boy on the field.
On the other side—Stella, Shizuku, and Nene at the very top row—every one of them, along with the audience watching at home, held their breath.
"W-What happened…?"
"I—I can't tell…"
The murmurs began to ripple through the stands.
On the field—
"Hahh…"
Eiji let out a long, slow breath.
He turned, looking behind him.
And to everyone in the audience—no matter the angle they viewed from—he looked completely unscathed.
"N-Nangou-senpai is moving! He doesn't look hurt at all!"
"He did it!"
Touka cried out in joy.
Kanata and Nene both finally relaxed their breath.
They had confidence in Eiji—but no one had expected Ikki's final strike to reach such terrifying heights. It had shaken all of them.
Even Torajirou wiped invisible sweat from his brow, calmly lowering his hand again.
But in contrast—Stella, Shizuku, and the rest of Ikki's supporters... their expressions grew heavy.
"If Nangou-senpai is fine... then what about the other one—?"
All eyes followed the announcer's trembling voice—turning toward Ikki Kurogane.
"Guh—koff…!"
Ikki's face was deathly pale.
One hand clutched his chest, the other gripped his sword, barely supporting his body as he coughed violently.
He glanced down at where the pain radiated from.
There wasn't a single wound.
But the agony was real—deep and burning.
And with every ounce of stamina, mana, and willpower drained by Ittou Rasetsu, he no longer had the strength to stand. Like a fish out of water, his body collapsed powerlessly to its knees.
"…I lost."
His voice trembled—not just with pain, but with bitter frustration.
Ikki Kurogane admitted defeat.
He had reached his limit. He had broken through and created a brand-new technique.
But it still wasn't enough.
He had failed to surpass Eiji's limits.
He lost.
But he held no resentment.
He had truly gone all-out—given it everything. But Eiji's strength had risen even higher.
Still—
Yes, even if there was no frustration with the result, there was a fierce, gnawing regret.
He'd thought that, with the new board chairman in place, he would finally have a shot at qualifying for the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival, and graduating in triumph. But in the end, he couldn't even make it out of the selection tournament.
The promise he made to Stella had been broken. He hadn't been able to cleanse the stain on her name either.
Thinking about it—this had been a complete failure.
"Contestant Kurogane… has conceded!"
The announcer stood up on his chair, face flushed with emotion.
"To all viewers watching this spectacular match! After a breathtaking duel of sword and steel—following Contestant Kurogane's surrender—I now declare the winner of this match to be Contestant Eiji Nangou! He claims victory in the Hagun Academy Selection Tournament, and becomes one of the six representatives for the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival!"
"OOOOHHHH!!"
"You two were amazing!"
"Angel-sama is unbeatable! Absolutely invincible!"
"I didn't even understand half of it—but I felt how incredible that fight was!"
Cheers exploded from every corner of the arena.
The audience roared with applause, holding back nothing in their praise.
It was, without question, a match worthy of the Seven Stars Sword King title. No one would have been surprised if either of them had claimed that crown here and now. Just witnessing such a battle in a selection round made it all worth attending.
"A bit of a shame."
Eiji walked over to the fallen Ikki, and extended a hand to him.
"…Was I not enough to satisfy you?"
Ikki let out a wry smile at the question.
It was true.
His sword techniques had been thoroughly outclassed by Eiji's. It was only natural for Eiji to feel unfulfilled.
"No, not at all," Eiji shook his head.
"This battle—it was everything I hoped for. I gave it everything I had."
He meant it.
There was no holding back. Eiji had fought with absolute seriousness from start to finish.
In swordsmanship, he had gone all out—only then could he suppress Ikki. And through this fight, he had gained something precious himself.
From an ability standpoint, he still had plenty of mana left—but executing Lightning Flash had truly been his full power.
No exaggeration—that was his current limit.
***
Hey readers!
Want to read ahead? 📖 Join my Patreon for early access to 30+ advance chapters! Your support helps me write more and bring the story to you faster.
🔹patreon.com/aarvan🔹