Break ti.
Kurogane Ikki walked out of the dical room.
Stella wasn't seriously injured—she had only lost her stamina and would recover after so sleep.
Considering the next match would be between Eiji and Sara—a match he couldn't afford to miss—Kurogane Ikki headed toward the spectator stands after leaving the dical room.
As he turned a corner, he ran into Eiji.
"You're not in the preparation room?"
Kurogane Ikki looked at Eiji in surprise.
"I was waiting here for you."
Eiji stood at the corner, with the entrance to the preparation room just a short distance to his left.
"There's sothing I want to ask you."
"Is it about what happened earlier in the arena?"
Seeing the eager look in Eiji's eyes, Kurogane Ikki quickly understood.
Eiji was soone deeply obsessed with becoming stronger. If there was sothing he absolutely needed to figure out, it was undoubtedly related to a thod of gaining power.
"But, to be honest, I don't really know what happened back then either."
Kurogane Ikki let out a bitter laugh.
"I only rember sothing like touching a giant gate, and then many chains wrapping around …"
He struggled to recall the events of that mont.
Though he hadn't forgotten, his mories weren't particularly clear.
Most importantly, he had no idea what that gate was or what had happened to him at the ti.
"You managed to open that gate, didn't you?"
Though phrased as a question, Eiji's tone was filled with certainty.
"You've opened it too?"
Kurogane Ikki's eyes imdiately lit up.
"No, unfortunately, I haven't managed to open it yet."
Eiji shrugged.
It was a bit strange.
Back in the DanMachi, Konosuba, and Type-Moon Worlds, although he'd encountered bottlenecks in his sword training, that was all there was to it—no unusual phenona had ever appeared.
It wasn't until Eiji returned to the Chivalry of a Failed Knight world that he witnessed that bizarre scene.
When he trained with his sword at full intensity, a massive stone gate, ten ters tall, would appear before him. Resisting it felt like opposing the entire planet.
That was when Eiji realized:
This must be a power system unique to the Chivalry of a Failed Knight world, only triggered upon returning to this world.
"Is that so?"
Kurogane Ikki looked at him in surprise.
In his mind, Eiji had already surpassed him by far. He'd instinctively assud that Eiji must have already opened that gate, because he'd discovered that opening it would allow one to step into a broader realm!
But the fact that Eiji hadn't crossed that stone gate yet astonished him.
In other words, Eiji had already achieved this level of strength without even surpassing his limits!
Kurogane Ikki fell into thought.
Did this an he was inherently inferior to Eiji?
It went without saying—if Eiji was already this strong now, once he pushed open that gate, he would undoubtedly beco ridiculously powerful, right?
However, Kurogane Ikki had never been a talented Blazer to begin with, so being surpassed by others was a common occurrence for him. Thus, he felt not a hint of jealousy in his heart.
"How did you manage to push open that gate?"
Eiji asked with great interest.
"How I pushed it open?"
Kurogane Ikki frowned at the question.
He had no intention of hiding anything.
Eiji had already helped him far too much. In his heart, Eiji was a unique, irreplaceable friend in his life, holding equal status with Stella, Shizuku, and the others.
If he could be of help to him, he would definitely give it his all.
However, at that ti, even he himself found it difficult to explain the situation clearly.
"If I had to say... it was montum, perhaps?"
Kurogane Ikki spoke with uncertainty.
"Montum?"
Eiji tilted his head, expressing confusion.
"Yeah."
Kurogane Ikki nodded, struggling to find the right words.
"At that mont, my mind was filled with nothing but the thought of crossing over, crossing over. I didn't think about anything else, focusing solely on strengthening my resolve..."
Perhaps that was the key?
Eiji fell into deep thought.
Stella had placed imnse pressure on Kurogane Ikki, or rather, given him motivation.
Kurogane Ikki's resolve continuously intensified, eventually undergoing a qualitative transformation, allowing him to cross that stone gate.
This seed like a reasonable assumption.
"I understand."
Eiji nodded, expressing his gratitude.
"Anyway, thank you for telling . I'll go and prepare now."
Eiji waved his hand, walked through the passageway, and headed toward the preparation room.
"If anyone should be thanking soone, it should be . I've lost count of how many tis you've helped so far."
Kurogane Ikki sighed with emotion.
In this lifeti, he had Stella and, even more so, a friend like Eiji. He must have used up all his luck in this life.
"Win this."
Kurogane Ikki watched Eiji's retreating figure with a serious expression.
"I hope that tomorrow, on that stage, it will be a rematch between the two of us!"
Eiji did not respond.
He simply waved his hand without turning back and then entered the preparation room.
Kurogane Ikki said nothing more, turned around, and walked out of the passageway toward the spectator seats.
"He's here! Since the last match, where the F-Rank Blazer, the , pulled off a major upset by defeating the A-Rank Blazer, the , honestly, I can no longer predict the course of this Seven Star Sword Art Festival!"
"But not understanding is fine! As long as the competitors deliver thrilling matches, I am still more than willing to offer them cheers and applause! Next up is the second semifinal match of this year's Seven Star Sword Art Festival!"
"In this highly anticipated battle, who will erge victorious? Will it be the E-Rank Blazer, the , from Hagun Academy? Or will it be the competitor from Akatsuki Academy, previously ranked C but now reassessed as A-Rank, possessing the terrifyingly powerful technique, Fantasy Mimicry, the ? Let's wait and see!"
"Please welco both competitors to the stage!"
Amid countless cheers, the atmosphere in the entire arena instantly reached its peak!
Eiji paid no attention to the rising and falling cheers, maintaining a heart as calm as still water, and stepped out of the red gate into the fully restored combat ring.
Across from him stood a girl with ssy golden hair, her expression solemn.
Unlike usual, beneath her paint-stained apron, she was wearing a set of underwear—the very set Touka had bought for her yesterday.
Faint sounds of countless disappointed groans could be heard from the spectator seats.
"Mr. Kaieda, what are your thoughts on this match?"
"A protracted battle would be unfavorable for the Sword God. The best approach is to launch a swift assault at the start, taking down the opponent in one strike. However, Bloody da Vinci is surely aware of this—she will defend with all her might. As long as she survives the initial onslaught, she has a chance at victory."
The senior comntator on the main platform was dutifully analyzing the situation.
"But the Sword God's fierce assault is sothing ordinary people cannot withstand. Bloody da Vinci—her chances of winning are less than ten percent!"
Indeed.
In the spectator stands, everyone agreed with Kaieda's assessnt.
Once the Sword God gets serious, even a master like Kurogane Ouma would crumble upon contact, let alone Sara?
"There's no need to defend, nor any need to evade."
But at that mont, within the combat arena, Eiji took the initiative to speak to Sara.
"Sara, I will give you ti to set up your strongest formation!"
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