(Fraise Azurenacht's POV)
Cerulean Academy, Present Day
Undefeated Fencer King, huh.
—What an absurd title to be called by.
Because of that title, I had to fight countless people, even in times most inconvenient for me. All to protect some family pride and maintain reputation.
Sigh.
Oh well, ain't nothing to be done about it now, I suppose.
Esmes has already gone through the trouble just to challenge me, so I might as well indulge her a little.
After accepting her invitation to a duel, we later approached Mr. Naoto to reserve a nearby arena.
"A duel, huh? Sure, I got time to kill. We'll use stadium number eight since it's free. Sounds good?"
"Yes."
It doesn't matter where we fight.
I just want to get this over with.
The three of us then ventured underground via an elevator, which would take us down to the arena.
"Enjoy your glory while you still can, Fraise."
"Why?"
"Because today marks the end of your regime."
"We'll see about that."
The doors opened.
"We're here", said Mr. Naoto.
Emerging from the dark elevator, we stepped out into the arena. Bathed in the spotlight, the crowd roared with excitement and various cheers.
"Fraise, I love you!!"
"Go get her, Fraise!!"
"Put her in her place!!"
I smiled and waved towards my fans in the crowd.
Meanwhile, Esmes scoffed in delight.
We approach the center of the arena.
"Enough talk, take your positions", said Mr. Naoto.
"Come to me, Aurora, The North Star!"
A small rapier-like sword appeared in my hands. I held it close to my chest and took a deep breath in.
"You're already starting the fight with your strongest weapon? Heh, you really have no tact~"
"I don't see how tact has anything to do with this. You challenged me to battle, so naturally I reserve the right to defend myself without holding back."
"I suppose that's true. But that's not how I envisioned our battle to go."
"What?"
"You see, at first, I intended on toying with each other for a while. You know, dance, play a little."
"—But then, as soon as we approach the climax, we go all out. Hold nothing back. Prove to the other, who's truly superior. That's how a fight should go."
"Hmph, well, sorry to disappoint."
"Disappoint? No, no, this is absolutely perfect."
"Huh?"
"Fine, we'll do it your way, —King Fraise~"
Something's off.
I don't like that smile she has on her face.
Suddenly, Esmes summons a large broadsword.
"Right then, let's get to it, shall we?"
I raise my eyebrows.
"You're not going to use your Blazer?"
"What? Oh, you mean this?"
There was another sword that Esmes already had at her hip. Although concealed by cloth that restricted magic, I could sense great power emanating from it.
No doubt about it.
That was Esmes's strongest sword.
Yet why did she choose not to draw that blade?
The answer was simple.
"—You're not worthy of its power."
"Is that so?"
So she intends to hold back, huh.
I see now.
Esmes intends to ridicule me by beating me in front of a whole crowd while handicapped. That's why she was so intent on gathering such a large crowd.
I almost laughed.
Now that we took up our fighting stances, Mr. Naoto created a barrier that covered the entire arena. A little safety precaution to protect the crowd nearby.
With this, all of our preparations have been made.
"Are you both ready?", he asks.
"In Victory, —Truth!"
Confirming the beginning of battle, the fight began.
* * * * * * * * * *
We glare at each other for a second. In the next moment, we rush towards each other to strike.
However, right before we clashed blades, something deep down told me to pull back. And so I did.
At the very last second, I took a large step back, allowing Esmes to swing her sword forward.
BANG!!
The result of her strike was unfathomable. The mere impact of her sword touching the ground resulted in a tremor strong enough to shake the very arena itself. The crater it left behind was also colossal.
"—What in the hell…?"
"Heh, you've got a good head on your shoulders. Not only does this sword weigh several tons, but it also burns up to nine thousand celsius too! So be careful. If you get too close, you might get cooked alive!!~"
"You're joking."
"Care to find out!?~"
"No thank you."
And to think this wasn't even her Blazer at work….
But if her sword is that heavy….
"Oh and FYI—"
—!?
Suddenly, she appeared behind me.
"—Don't think you can beat me with speed alone!!"
She's fast!
There was no time to dodge, so I was forced to defend myself using my sword.
BANG!!
Another tremendous strike shook the arena. My sword echoed from the reverberating impact and pain coursed from my hands up to my shoulders. As expected, I can't continue to defend myself like this.
"Your guard is weak!!"
She prepares to swing again. In between her next strike, I tuck and roll safely out of her attack range.
Now being too far to reach me without closing the distance, Esmes enchants her blade with magical flames before following up with another swing, shooting deadly waves of fire towards me.
—A pointless endeavor.
I cut down those makeshift blades with my sword.
Fighting from afar is smart, but you will gain no advantage over me with that tactic.
Besides, two can play at that game.
"Ice Volley!"
Summoning shards of ice, I return fire.
Esmes deflects the arrows with her sword and flames while continuing to advance.
Tch, not even that could slow her down…
Now finding a strategic opening in my offense, Esmes marches forward with her blade in tow.
It didn't even take her a second for her to close the distance between us. By the time she was already in front of me, she threatened me with an underhand strike towards my head. Barely having any room to dodge, I step back a little to avoid her sword. She then followed up by stepping even closer to me before swinging in with an overhead strike.
I had no other choice but to guard using my sword.
Defending myself with just the right amount of strength, I rode the momentum of the impact with a slight backstep to put some distance between us.
However, right before I could recover my stance—
"—Dragon's Breath!"
Insistent on maintaining her onslaught, Esmes attacks for the third time and fires a beam of light.
Forced to break my focus, I sidestep to the right.
The cannon instead hits the barrier.
The blast was strong enough to leave a large crack in the barrier, however it was quickly repaired.
As for me—
Although her attack did not land, my eternal volley of ice was gone, giving Esmes a chance to retaliate.
Multiple magical spells appeared on the floor.
"Go get him, King Cobra!"
"Summoning magic?"
A giant black and red serpent emerged through one of the spells, only to fall back into another.
Despite its size, its movements were fast and erratic. But since it was clearly coming after me, I could predict where it would attack from next.
—There!
The snake emerged.
"Ice Javelin!"
Not even giving it enough time to arise from the ground, I rained a flurry of ice javelins upon it.
Each one carried enough strength to pierce through reinforced steel, let alone a snake's hide.
By the third shot, it was already dead.
I glance back at Esmes.
"Heh."
She's smiling?
Suddenly, a large shadow appeared behind me.
I turned around in surprise.
A second one!?
There wasn't enough time to dodge.
—And so, the snake swallowed me whole.
* * * * * * * * * *
To think that Esmes would go as far as to summon two large serpents, only to use the first as mere bait.
Not even I could've seen that coming.
I chuckle a little.
Clever.
—But that's not enough to stop me.
Using my sword, I filet the snake from the inside out, resulting in it being severed into large chunks.
Poof.
The snake bursts into a cloud of smoke.
I land on the ground without a scratch to my name.
"What the—!?"
"Come now, surely this isn't all you have to offer."
"Tch, fine then. You asked for it!!"
Esmes rushed in for another attack, her blade carrying even more murderous intent than before.
I carefully avoided her attack again, while keeping myself in a position to avoid other follow up strikes.
Weave, weave, weave. I repeated the motions. Again and again, her sword cut through nothing but air.
"Grah, stop dodging and fight me like a man!!"
Furious, she poured strength into her sword and swung one last time, firing a powerful shockwave.
I avoided the attack.
Atleast that's what I thought at first.
"Tch, and I was so close too."
Hmm?
—!?
A bloody scratch appeared on my forehead.
It appears I've gotten a little careless.
"What, surprised?"
A little bit.
"I don't remember the last time anyone managed to land a hit on me." I admitted.
"Heh, that goes to show just how good I am~"
She smiles cockily.
"Yeah, I suppose you're not half."
I wipe the blood off my forehead.
"Not bad, huh? Don't make me laugh!"
Esmes extended her hands towards me, which caused a magical sigil to appear beneath my feet.
Suddenly, an extremely heavy sensation coursed through my body.
Gravity magic?
"Sword Art - Descending Dragon's Fang!!"
—!?
Esmes leapt towards the air, her sword coaxed in flames in the shape of an angry red dragon.
With the gravity magic in play, I can't avoid the attack or defend myself in time.
In that case…
I aimed my hand towards Esmes.
"Southern Push!!"
As soon as I exclaim that, a wave of magnetic energy explodes from my hand and blasts Esmes away.
Although she was able to air cancel herself into a backflip, the force from such a blast was still strong enough to send her flying across the arena.
Good, atleast I managed to get her off my back.
Now, as for you…
I jab my sword into the sigil and fire a bolt of magic.
This reaction caused the spell to disintegrate, releasing me from my gravitational confines.
The flow of battle had been reset.
I glance back towards Esmes.
"Any other tricks you would like to show me?"
"Hmph, plenty. Haze Curtain!"
Using her flames to incinerate the very light around her, Esmes made herself invisible to the naked eye.
However, there was no need for concern. If my eyes will not suffice, then my ears and sixth sense will.
I closed my eyes and focused.
The red shadow approaches.
—There!
I weave to the right, avoiding her unseen strike.
"What!?"
I twisted my blade around, smashing the pommel against her abdomen and fired a bolt of magic. With this, Esmes's cloak of invisibility shattered like glass.
"Gufu!"
She kneels forward in pain. Now obtaining an opening, I kick her, knocking her flat on her back.
Pam!
A loud dry thud reverberates from the impact.
"Ugh...but how….!?"
"They say that if one of your senses goes missing, the other four become sharper. I simply recreated that same reaction by convincing my brain that I was blind, which is, by far, no easy feat of course."
"Ggh…"
"So, are we done here?"
"As if!!"
Thought so.
As if suddenly finding her second wind, Esmes rolls into a backflip and puts some distance between us.
Shortly after, she waves her hand over the sword that she had been concealing previously.
Oh?
Is she finally going to use her Blazer?
A disappointed expression appears on her face.
"Tch, to think I would have to go this far to win. Oh, well, it doesn't matter now. I've already told myself that I'll do whatever it takes to come out on top."
She taps her Blazer with her right hand.
Tremendous amounts of heat and energy erupted from her figure in the form of overwhelming magic. Such heat was hot enough to scorch the very earth around her, incinerating it until it was pitch black.
I recognized this strength all too well. These flames were the raw manifestation of her resolve. A type of power born from an unyielding will that never gives up. A will that refuses to know the taste of defeat.
If she's willing to go this far, then I need to respond in kind and give it everything I've got too.
I summon multiple magical circles behind me.
"Icicle Javelin!!"
As I said that, each of the magical circles fired dozens of powered up versions of my Ice Javelins.
—However, all of it was to no avail. They simply melted before it could even reach Esmes in time.
Her flames were simply just that hot.
"Don't even bother wasting your strength. As of right now, your magic will have no effect on me."
I see, so basic magic won't be enough to reach her.
"Mmgh..…"
I begin to rethink my next approach.
Meanwhile, Esmes smiles cockily.
"Face it, Fraise. This is checkmate!!~"
I raise my eyebrow.
"—Checkmate? Don't be so delusional."
"Huh?"
"A little heat isn't enough to stop me."
Esmes could not comprehend my words.
That's fine though.
I'll just have to show her exactly what I mean.
I ready my blade once again.
"Come."