"So that's how it is."
"The strongest earns the respect of all!"
Even the viewers watching from home couldn't help but agree.
Though many were captivated by the charisma of this candidate from Hagun Academy, there was no denying that his proposal made perfect sense.
Being chosen by luck alone could never win genuine respect. Everyone who thought themselves strong enough believed they could replace those few. Who could accept losing just because of fate?
If that's the case, then it's easy to say:
Hold a Revival Tournament for Losers!
Let those who lost just one or two matches return to the battlefield. No more random matchups—this time, they would fight in a knockout style, one-on-one elimination. The winners would earn the right to challenge the current representatives.
If those lucky few who got through by chance lost, it would only prove their lack of strength.
This system was far more reasonable!
"Hahaha! So our little junior had this scheme planned all along?"
Nene laughed uproariously, her short legs kicking wildly in the air.
"Kuro, you knew all this and didn't tell me?"
"You didn't ask."
Kurono shrugged lightly.
Hosting a revival tournament required her approval, so Eiji had already consulted with her—if he could convince the whole school, she would agree to it.
Using his tremendous influence, Eiji successfully stirred the crowd, and the revival tournament gained unanimous support.
With that, even if a few opposed it, there was nothing more they could say.
"Revival tournament…"
Ikki's expression went blank.
"Is that even allowed?"
Indeed, considering he had only lost once so far, no matter how high the entry threshold for the revival tournament, he would definitely qualify—and his chances of breaking through were very high!
There were very few in this academy stronger than him. Besides Eiji, even if he faced off against Toudou Touka, he was confident he wouldn't lose.
No—given how much he had improved in his battle with Eiji, even breaking through the level of "Ittou Rasetsu," he was confident he could defeat the academy's strongest head-on!
In other words, his success in breaking through was basically guaranteed!
Listening to the swelling cheers of agreement from the audience, Ikki's eyes burned with determination.
He still had a chance!
No—
But—
"Humph! Revival tournament? That's got nothing to do with Ikki Kurogane!"
A harsh laugh rang from nearby.
Akaza, acting as if nothing had happened, ignored Eiji's scornful insult and looked at Ikki with a mocking grin.
"Either way, you've lost the right to continue competing. You can't even go back to school—you have to report directly to the League headquarters for review. Someone, take him away—"
"Shut up, you're trash!"
"Demoted too—!?"
Eiji shot a cold glare at Akaza.
"I hereby unilaterally declare the agreement you made in this duel null and void!"
The microphone was firmly in his hand.
His willful declaration broadcast loud and clear for all to hear.
"Huh? What do you mean? They had some sort of agreement?"
"Putting everything else aside, a duel should be supreme…"
"Shut up! Angel-sama said it's invalid, so it's invalid!"
"Baby, Mom always supports you!"
In an instant, the entire arena erupted.
The whole stadium boiled over like water on the verge of boiling.
"Eiji, sir, what you're doing goes against the knight's code!"
Akaza was stunned speechless.
But then, instead of getting angry, he actually brightened up, proudly adjusting the bowtie at his chest with a composed smile full of ease.
"Even if you care about your friends, you shouldn't dispute the result of a duel—that's not what a true knight does!"
He decided not to bother with formalities.
What's wrong with being the strongest and getting verbally attacked in the future world? Most people don't even get the chance to be insulted like that! But by openly trying to overturn the duel's result, he committed a grave taboo and put himself in a place of injustice—ironically, this made Eiji's actions all the more justified!
"The premise for accepting a duel's result is that the duel itself must be legitimate!"
Eiji remained completely unmoved, just sneering coldly.
"Akaza, all the dirty rumors about Ikki Kurogane—weren't those planted by you through the media?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Did a massive scandal just break out?"
"If Angel-sama says it, Akaza must be wrong!"
Anyway, Angel-sama could never be wrong.
A small number of male viewers rolled their eyes.
"Eiji, you need evidence to back up your claims!"
Akaza's face still wore a smile, but his expression darkened somewhat.
"The public's eyes are sharp. Ikki Kurogane's own misconduct is obvious. How can you blame me? Nobody will believe you're trying to frame me without reason!"
Can't you hear the girls shouting out?
Ikki's mind was in chaos, even accidentally forming sarcastic thoughts.
He had no clue what Eiji was aiming at. He could tell Eiji wanted to help him, and his influence might attract some blind fans—but without proof, there was no convincing the alliance headquarters.
"Of course I have the evidence!"
The next moment, Eiji's voice rang out decisively.
"What?"
Akaza was startled, his face instantly changing.
"Kusakabe!"
"Yes, I'm here!"
A girl with peach-colored short hair stood up in the audience, holding a microphone as well.
"Just like Eiji said, this whole incident was a conspiracy orchestrated by Ethics Committee member Akaza Mamoru! Here's the proof!"
Kagami Kusakabe raised a student handbook.
She connected the handbook to the giant screen above the arena, exposing chat logs for all to see.
"This information came from my talks with media insiders who spread those rumors! Akaza threatened them with the exclusive broadcasting rights to the KOK League and made them smear Ikki Kurogane—it's an undeniable fact!"
Kagami held the most direct inside info on Hagun Academy.
And because Blazers were such a hot topic in society, even people who didn't follow politics or economics paid attention to popular Blazers.
Using her role as head of the academy's news club as leverage, she had built good relationships with many media insiders and had broad connections.
After Eiji asked her for help, she risked damaging those connections to test the insiders' loyalties.
And finally, she got the evidence.
That's right.
Everything about Blazers was managed by the League headquarters—even the rights to report on them!
Akaza used the KOK League's exclusive broadcasting rights to threaten news media, putting them all in a bind. After all, media lived off viewership, and the KOK League was undoubtedly the biggest draw. If reporting was banned, it was like having their throats cut!
***
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