"Hey, someone is dueling!"
"What? Who is it?"
"I heard it is a new exchange student from the Vermillion Empire and that repeat student, Kurogane."
"The Failed Knight?!"
"Eh—you are kidding! An exchange student and a repeat student? Pfft, what kind of boring matchup is this?"
Across the vast campus, the news began to spread at an astonishing speed, with people continuously arriving and filling the spectator seats to join in the spectacle.
On the dueling platform.
Noah was still wearing his white casual suit, though he had unbuttoned the jacket.
Listening to the mocking discussions from all directions, he glanced around slightly, observing how the others viewed Ikki Kurogane, then subtly shook his head.
He sighed, "Although this is one of the prestigious Seven Mage-Knight Academies, it seems most students are still a bunch of ignorant fools. I have to thank you, Kurogane, for not shattering my illusions about this place right away."
"Eh?"
Ikki Kurogane was taken aback.
He then realized that even after hearing the surrounding, cruel gossip, the young man standing before him seemed to genuinely recognize him as a warrior, rather than blindly believing the rumors.
'This is only the second time since I was born that someone has acknowledged me like this.'
He smiled bitterly. "It seems you have heard quite a bit about me on your way here."
Noah spread his hands, indicating that was indeed the case.
Ikki Kurogane smiled faintly, then straightened his expression and spoke seriously.
"To be honest, I don't really care about the dormitory room or anything like that. My true goal is to become a Mage-Knight. To achieve that, I must defeat everyone at the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival. Princess Stella is an opponent I will have to face sooner or later. Given that, I couldn't pass up this chance to confront her directly."
His goal is also the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival.
'I see. Defeat everyone, huh.'
Noah glanced at the older boy's determined eyes, convinced he wasn't joking.
It seemed more like he was forcing himself to cut off any retreat.
Noah bowed slightly. "I apologize for interrupting your challenge—it was inconsiderate of me. But as the Princess's knight, I cannot simply let you have your way."
Ikki Kurogane readied his stance. "I know you are no ordinary person, Noah. There is no need for modesty. Please face me seriously in this match!"
From the moment in the office until now, the two warriors had finally properly acknowledged each other.
"Time is up! The simulated battle begins now!" Kurono announced over the loudspeakers, explaining the rules of the simulated battle.
It was mainly for the benefit of the new students in the stands.
"The rules of the simulated battle are to avoid physical harm and only weaken the opponent's spirit! Both sides must manifest their Device in Illusion Form!"
Unlike the practical-oriented Seven Stars Sword Art Festival, this was a "friendly" sparring match.
Naturally, the Devices wouldn't be materialized in physical form, as that could risk their lives given how quickly battles could change.
However, Noah knew that with Kurono Shingunji overseeing the match, such a possibility was highly unlikely.
Silence fell over the arena.
Only the two competitors remained on the dueling platform.
The massive broadcast equipment above displayed their information:
New Student, C-Rank Knight Noah VS Repeat Student, F-Rank Failed Knight Ikki Kurogane.
Stella was also in the spectator stands.
She spotted the Chairwoman waving at her and went over to sit beside her.
Kurono Shinguuji noticed her calm expression, seemingly unfazed.
Seeing her unconcerned expression, she couldn't help but ask, "You seem quite confident in that boy?"
Faced with this question, Stella immediately wore a proud expression.
"Of course I am."
"Hmph—"
"Kurogane isn't as weak as you imagine," Kurono stated.
She seemed to want to witness the shock on the Crimson Princess's face.
But Stella's response was simple. "Chairwoman, you said the exact same thing as Noah. However, whether that man is strong or not doesn't affect my belief that Noah will win."
Even Kurono Shinguuji was surprised by this level of trust.
It was practically blind faith.
But since he was deemed worthy of such regard by the Crimson Princess, it seemed this would be a very interesting duel.
"Come to me, Intetsu!"
The moment the duel began, Ikki Kurogane raised his hand, calling out the name of his Device while assuming a stance reminiscent of drawing a sword.
Mana gathered in his hand.
A seemingly plain black katana appeared in his grasp. Upon closer inspection, one would notice the unique, rippling blade pattern on the sword, which appeared quite elegant.
This aligned with the characteristic of katanas—their hidden beauty could only be appreciated under specific lighting.
Without a doubt, Ikki Kurogane himself, like his Device, was a humble and reserved blade of fine quality.
Unlike his opponent, who exuded an imposing samurai aura, Noah silently manifested his Device.
Dark gray metal gauntlets attached to his palms and wrists, appearing even more unremarkable than Ikki's katana.
"Gloves?"
"No, arm guards?"
Ikki Kurogane quickly analyzed Noah's possible fighting style based solely on the form of his Device.
He was a pure swordsman, and his optimal combat range was within the reach of his weapon—close-quarters combat.
Since he had nothing but his sword, he had to maximize its potential.
This meant that, regardless of whether his opponent excelled in magic or close combat, he had to seize the initiative in attack range to gain an early advantage.
In an instant, Ikki Kurogane formulated his strategy.
He shouted, "Here I come!"
Then, gripping his sword tightly with both hands, he charged.
Noah's fingers twitched slightly, but he made no other defensive movements.
The moment he entered his optimal attack range, Kurogane swiftly swung his sword.
The entire motion—from raising the blade to striking down—took less than 0.5 seconds, executed cleanly and efficiently.
Yet, this flawless strike cut through nothing but air.
The curved blade landed just under a single centimeter outside the maximum range, failing to so much as graze Noah's suit jacket.
To the untrained students in the stands, it seemed as though Noah hadn't moved at all—Ikki Kurogane had simply missed his opening attack!
"Pfft!"
"Hahahaha!"
"As expected of the Failed Knight! He couldn't even hit someone who didn't move!"
"That exchange student is strange too. Did he see through it and not react, or was he simply too slow to respond?"
Cruel jeers filled the air.
Kurono Shinguuji sighed, resting her forehead in her hand.
These students... are truly hopeless, impossible to guide...
She had seen it clearly.
The exact moment Ikki Kurogane swung his sword, Noah had cleanly retreated half a step, without any unnecessary movement, not even the slightest sway of his body.
This was undoubtedly a defensive maneuver that calculated the opponent's exact attack range to the absolute extreme.
Beside her, Stella frowned repeatedly at the jeers.
'This is the famed Hagun Academy?'
'Though I never expected this place to be crawling with C-Ranks and B-Ranks everywhere, some of these students are even upperclassmen!'
'Yet they couldn't even grasp what just happened—their skill level is truly low.'
Only a handful of people present had clearly seen that fleeting, masterful moment.
For instance, a girl wearing thick glasses in the spectator stands had seen through it all.
Her expression was one of sheer astonishment as she murmured in awe, "Incredible."
That boy's control over distance was exceptionally precise, while his opponent's swordsmanship had also reached a masterful level.
The moment Ikki Kurogane realized his swing had barely missed, his pupils contracted slightly.
However, he didn't panic.
Instead, he immediately reversed his blade and stepped forward to close the gap between them.
But just as he thought this second strike would land, he suddenly felt his entire body grow unbearably heavy, as if he were sinking into a mire.
Noah sidestepped to evade while simultaneously extending a hand enveloped in Raven Feather.
Though moving later, his hand arrived first, catching up to the drastically slowed blade and gripping it perfectly by the unsharpened spine.
For a katana, this is the absolute most vulnerable point to be seized by an opponent.
Ikki Kurogane inwardly cursed his misfortune and urgently pushed the hilt with his palm, generating friction along the blade in an attempt to force Noah to release his grip.
But Noah's hand was protected by the metal of Raven Feather, unafraid of the harm that friction with the blade might cause.
Sparks flew as the gauntlet scraped against the blade. Noah suddenly exerted magical force with the hand gripping the spine, while Ikki Kurogane clenched the hilt tightly, refusing to let go.
In the next instant, Noah lifted Ikki Kurogane clean off the ground and over his head—using only two of his fingers!
"What?!"
Ikki Kurogane mustered all his core strength to avoid being disarmed, but when he found himself being effortlessly hoisted into the air by his opponent's two fingers, he couldn't help but feel a flash of terror.
'What kind of monstrous strength is this?! No matter how you look at it, this is just too absurd!'
Noah shifted his grip from a pinch to a full grasp, concentrating his magical defense into his palm before firmly seizing Intetsu.
As if wielding a massive hammer, he slammed Ikki Kurogane straight into the stone ground.
THUD!
Everyone in the stands watched in total horror.
"Hey, hey, hey! Is this even Illusion damage?!"
"That guy is a monster!"
"Don't tell me Kurogane got smashed to bits in one hit—!"
Kurono Shinguuji shot up from her seat, nearly summoning her inherent Device on the spot.
If he had landed headfirst, it would have been instant death!
Not even an intensive care pod could have saved him then!
Suddenly, Ikki Kurogane released both hands from his hilt.
Noah felt the heavy weight in his hand vanish.
He drove Intetsu fiercely into the ground, generating a fan-shaped shockwave that utterly devastated the surface of the dueling platform.
Ikki Kurogane barely stabilized his stance as he landed back on his feet, still in the match.
But as he witnessed the terrifying aftermath of Noah's single strike, he couldn't help but wonder.
'Is Noah actually trying to kill me?!'