Vol 16 Chapter 1 (1/2)

Chapter 1 - Adolescence and Strife

The sun of the spring season shone on the budding, tender leaves of the trees Because the cityto where the filth etation in the city, having undergone these extrees, were adaptable, and so this hat it looked like in spring

The light was reflected back by the faint green tender leaves, n of life And the delayed enrollan to get used to their new lives here

The corounds A place for official Military Artists in Zuellni for training It was a very spacious area for the platoons It had artificially mire that would trap one’s feet If one were in a place filled with stone towers, then there would be a very intense aerial fight

On that day was a special match It wasn’t a platoon match for a selenium mine in the Military Arts Competition between cities It was a match on a smaller scale The platoons matches took place a bit later than usual this year Still, this year, one would see the strength of the new students and the senior students

The match today took place for new students to understand hoorked This policy was permitted by the new Student President Samiraya Miruke and the new Head of the Military Arts subject Gorneo Luckens

There were many new students in the spectator stand as they had the priority seats Big screens were set up by audience outside the grounds Besides, one could also view it from his monitor in his own roorarams, live-feeds of the platoon matches were also very popular

The platoons in today’s match were the 14th and the 17th platoons

But the outcome of the an And in this high-speed

Under the rule, the match would stop once the captain of the team was down

Dalshena, under the cover provided by Sharnid, had entered the central fight while Nina was closing in on shi+n with her Kei The one on one fight was about to begin

“Here she co at the Dite in his hand His weapon was an elegant sword, but the blade was bent in the inally, this was a weapon favorable for adaptablespeed to the tip of the blade was its lith was a probleainst Nina’s th And knowing that, he had avoided using techniques thatit

“Both of us were of about the sath till now, but suddenly the distance between us has widened”

“Not really……”

Nina belonged to the 14th platoon before she set up the 17th platoon

“Well, anyway I’ up That’s the same for people who leave my side”

“Besides, we’re just the decorations of this show”

Nina turned around at his words The ainst the captain of the opposing team shi+n’s weapon was broken, but he hi

So the , and shi+n too Both of their gazes were fixed in the middle of the field where the stone towers stood

“Haha, is this all right?” Claribel was extreht, affected by her Kei Wearing the extra combat clothes froht

Layfon stood a bit further from her on the top of a stone tower In his hand was the Sapphire Dite

Layfon re into contact with his blade Though feeling the slow, strong wind pressing down on hi Claribel

She looked very happy

Of course She caht him It ithout a doubt that she was happy about this uard like last tiive her a bitter smile as he continued to feel the wind on the blade Claribel smiled at his attitude as she continued to raise the pressure of her Kei She hadn’tas her Kei rose

Claribel used Karen Kei, a type of Kei that used freedom as its principle Layfon must not focus on his sole attention on her, so that he wouldn’t be surprised if there was a sudden attack from his back

The wind But he couldn’t feel the Kei from the wind And so he could only watch Was there another way?

The purpose of the Kei flowing from the Kochouenshi+ken was to confuse hierous for hiinal thinking and stopped reading the wind on his blade

“……… Hu his action, a deeper sht”

These were Layfon’s first words since theat a combination of Claribel’s srandfather was Tigris, and her military arts master was Troyatte She should also be acquainted with Savaris, but Layfon didn’t think those two had a deep relationshi+p He just felt that they were siht, were all like that But perhaps itto do with the location It could just be a siht

Probably the latter

As a pretty girl, this s on Claribel’s face still made her cute Conversely, the sic But in ter created by it, Savaris’ was stronger

Claribel didn’t reply in case of a deceiving act in the fight

Her outflow of Kei remained steady The flame proudly wove around the Kochouenshi+ken He could read nothing else but that She wondered what he was planning by stalling for tiave up She just needed to wait for his attack then react She kept this stance, her tension reaching its lio”

But Layfon reacted before he heard the words He leaped Her words were deceit

He already felt the change when she said “then” The stone tower beneath hi and then evade her, that would have been too late for him

Explosion The shards of the stone beside Claribel’s feet became Kei and flew To stop the predictable paths of the Kei bullets fro in circles as she closed in on him

When he caet, but Layfon didn’t cut through them with his Sapphire Dite He also didn’t release his Kei to strike the advantage of the split second before the Kei bullets exploded to change his direction

“Truly is…”

Claribel’s voice came to him in the explosion It felt different from her position This was also Karen Kei He didn’t hesitate, knowing it was a trick He kept heading in the direction he was feeling

Yes, rely on his senses

Layfon shot forward, ignoring the sharp Kei bullets speeding for hiht side of Claribel before a stone tower

“Ah!”

Her expression twisted At the same tiure

An illusion

Then came Layfon’s attack The stone tower behind the illusion was cut into half The upper part of it slid down, and behind it leaped Claribel

“You saw through it!” her voice was full of joy

But Layfon ignored the sound and the figure, kicking at the part of the stone tower that was sliding down and changed his own direction again

Right underneath hi…… Ah!”

The rocks released by this action surprised Claribel Soure disappeared

Another illusion

Then was Claribel’s real body standing at where he attacked?

No

Layfon was heading straight for the ground but he maintained his speed The Military Artists on the stand moaned, some held their breath as they saas about to crash

But not so

Just as he was about to crash, his figure vanished The wind of his doardhis figure earlier dissipated

“Uh?”

Even Claribel herself was surprised She saw hi place

Of course, she understood iedShadow A Kei technique that le ht he was still there descending

Then where was he?

He had hidden hi hiet herself She suppressed her feeling and increased her Sakkei as her gazehiain, so hesoo back in her conclusion It was just that her body reacted quicker than her thoughts She ju with thein earlier collapsed in an instant Sparks flew off the red Kochouenshi+ken blade as she received nureen cut path of the Sapphire Dite brushed past her eyebrow So very exciting She was able to react in time because Sakkei allowed her to react faster than normal Otherwise, she would have lost already

Was it luck or her own strength? Claribel shi+vered, standing on this delicate boundary She eliminated her Sakkei and released all of her Kei

And Layfon reacted

Suddenly, the whole field shook as the released Kei clashed

At this ti before? She herself was discovered because she was surprised by his technique Fleeting Shadow

It was a strong illusion, so strong that not only her, but the audience were also deceived She could tell fro fro froe of it It was hard to wrap her mind around this precise skill

But he ht behind her? Was he luring her out using the technique? And so he found where she was at that split second when her Kei ebbed

Could that be the case?

(My battle reactions aren’t as sharp as his)

This was the conclusion

Karen Kei’s strong point was illusion Claribel had learned the Kei skill but was still slower than Layfon Or could it be that she hadn’t had the chance to show off her skill

But Layfon did it He had accurately grasped hold of the strengths and weaknesses of his techniques and used thely And so in order to confuse his opponent, he had used it

“Then it’s close combat this time,” Claribel declared No more illusions, but a real attack She pressed down her body and threw herself into his e Kochouenshi+ken upward

Layfon leaned back and evaded it The Kei running up the blade destroyed its surroundings, and Layfon used his own Kei to reflect it The two types of Kei clashed and threw off sparks

The flae, but cal away as he reacted to her attacks

They exchanged cut paths, the Kei froainst each other The more Layfon’s Kei refused Claribel’s, the ht was also like their Kei, the distance between the as they ran in the field

“Tsk”

The attacking side, Claribel, ap by even one step, and Layfon was backing off whileher speed, and she was unable to break apart his Kei Besides, in his right hand…… He was holding his katana naturally Claribel pressed on more

In reality she was the attacker, butpursued

Silently, Layfon focused on evading He wasn’t holding anything back

In terms of technique, he felt that hers and his were about the sa a toll on hisiht with Haia, Layfon felt that the only difference was in their Kei Everything else was about the sa their mentality Layfon fully kneell his oeaknesses One shouldn’t involve one’s eht was the ht was to h he wasn’t sure if that was her essence, it looked like it at this ht hi?

She had the same smile on her when he reunited with her in Grendan

But……

“Why do you look like that?”

Anger burned in her eyes The red of Kochouenshi+ken deepened Using the tied, she pulled open the distance

“You…… You’re underesti me!”

External Kei Karen Kei – Red Ripples

As she shouted, red filled his vision It wasn’t just enveloping Layfon The red exploded with Kochouenshi+ken as its center…………… accurately speaking, red buried the entire stone tower field, then it bounded for Layfon like an unsteadyfor its prey

Not that Claribel’s Kei could do all that instantly In order to confuse hi in the field She hoped by using this hidden Kei, she could reach his level or even overcome him

“Can you still keep that expression after this!!” she shouted, her shout transfor towards Layfon

“Tsk!”

Layfon didn’t back off any off him He readied his Sapphire Dite

Psyharden Technique – Flame Cut

“I know this technique!” Claribel shouted, athat katana?!”

Silence He kept his pose

“Can you do that without a Heaven’s Blade?”

He was still silent He just held tightly to the handle of the blade, transferring the feel of it to his left hand Karen Kei Though the heat of the Kei was before him, its speed continued to rise

He felt the heat in the sole of his boots It was creeping towards hih its speed was slower, Layfon needed to concentrate to counter as before hi an attack

Besides, he had nowhere to run to