51. New semester and First-Year War [3]

After Leia-sensei declared the start of the First-Year War, a female student who served as the commentator began explaining the rules.

The First-Year War takes place in a tournament format, and the winner is given the first-year student participation right for the Sword King Festival.

Only swords can be brought into the match, and no armor is allowed.

In order to be fair, the match card was decided by lottery just before the start of the match.

All of them were very ordinary rules, and there was nothing unusual about it.

「-Well, then! Now that we’ve finished explaining the rules, let the commemoration of the first match begin!」

The female student, sitting in the front row of the audience seat, inserted her hand in a transparent box with a lot of small balls.

Looking closer, each ball had a name on it.

Surely it plays the role of a lottery.

「The first contestant is – this person!」

When she took out the ball vigorously – my name was written on it.

「Ohhh What A Great Start! He came out in the very first match! Everyone knows Year 1 Class A Allen-Rodore! The Head of the mysterious group, the practice-swing club, and the shadow boss of the student council! In the Big Five Holy Festival, his opponent was beaten to a half-dead state, and during the new recruitment period, the Deputy Head of the Swordsmanship Club was defeated by underhanded means. And in the Club Budget War, he was the scoundrel who trifled with President Sie! To what extent will this man’s rapid advances continue?」

It’s not exactly wrong, but… it was a very malicious introduction.

Immediately after the live announcement was heard.

「Oh! So he’s the rumoured problem child. This is the first time I’m seeing him!」

「Hehe, what are you going to do this time?」

「I’m here to see you! Alleeeennn!」

Some of the seniors cheered me on.

(This feeling… I wonder if what I’m feeling is happiness…)

It was a bag of mixed feelings…

「Now, as for Allen’s opponent – Year 1 Class B Raise-Volgan! There’s a rumor that Raise-Volgan, during his middle-school years, sent 10 students from another academy to the hospital! I wonder if there are any people who are familiar with the moniker『Raise the song-sword user』!」

When the commentator announced, Raise-san got up to the stage.

「Oh, that song-sword user!」

「Come to think of it, I’ve heard of him before… He was rumoured to be a mad dog, though…」

「Now, will it be the atrocious Allen-Rodore, or Raise-Volgan, the song-sword user? Isn’t it an amazing card from the very first match!」

While the audience was excited, I stared at Raise-san.

Raise Volgan.

Dark red hair which was a little long for a man.

Silver piercings on the left ear.

He was about 170 centimeters tall.

(This is the second time I’m crossing swords with him…)

If I remember correctly, the first time was…

When he suddenly marched into the Soul Dress Area as soon as I was lifted off suspension…

When I recalled back to those days,

「Yo, it’s been a while. Allen Rodore-san yo?」

He greeted me with a smile on his face.

「…It’s been a while, Raise-san.」

「My, to get to fight you from the very beginning… luck sure is with me today! Today’s flow is quite good…!」

With his eyes bloodshot, he yelled at me.

(Apparently, he has a grudge against me…)

As I and Raise-san continued to glare at each other,

「Are both participants ready? Well then – Match Start!」

The commentator declared the start of the match.

I immediately drew my sword and assumed Seigan no Kamae.

Raise-san, on the other hand, manifested his soul dress in the opening act just like the last time.

「Well up -〈Three Skeletons〉!」

At that moment – three fleshless bone dragons suddenly appeared.

Red light floated in their eye sockets.

「This is…」

Huge.

It’s one or two sizes bigger than when we fought before.

「Haha, did you notice!? But you know, size isn’t the only thing that has changed! – Skeleton Dance!」

At the same time as he cried out – the three dragons bared their fangs all at once.

「「「KORORORORORORO!」」」

Large pointed fangs.

Sharp bone fragments protruding out of the whole body.

Literally, the whole body is a weapon.

(……It’s the first time I’m seeing this technique.)

However, if they’re going to come at me – Just pulverize it the same way as last time!

「Eight Sword – Yata–!?」

The moment I tried to destroy the three dragons with eight slashes.

「-Naive, too naive!」

As if he had foreseen it, Raise-san attacked me.

「Guh!?」

I was forced to abandon my technique and lock swords with Raise-san.

And right there,

「「「KORORORORO!」」」

The three dragons rushed towards my limbs.

「……」

I tried to avoid it somehow by twisting myself,

「Guh…!?」

A sharp bone fragment, which protruded out of one of the bone dragons, cut my shoulder shallowly.

「Fuha! That’s a nice expression, Allen-Rodore…!」

Raise-san curled the corners of his lips and expressed a crooked smile while holding back my sword firmly.

「…I see, so you intend to seal my techniques by engaging me at super-close combat.」

If the distance was closed to this point, it is not possible to unleash techniques freely – neither Flying Shadow, Hazy Moon, World Judgement, nor Yatagarasu.

(The same goes for Raise-san, but… he has〈Three Skeletons〉…)

Thanks to the remotely-controlled soul dress, he can one-sidedly release powerful attacks.

「Fuha, that’s right! Ever since the day I lost to you, I’ve been training in super close combat!　It’s all just to kill you!」

He declared so with a triumphant look.

(To seal the opponent’s swordsmanship in super close combat, huh. It’s easier said than done…)

For most swordsmen, this is a tactic that is almost impossible.

This is made possible by Raise-san’s quick reaction speed and excellent swordsmanship.

(As expected, he is an elite who enrolled into Thousand Blade Academy with his true strength…)

His basic abilities are extraordinarily high.

「Kuku, based on that expression… It seems that you still can’t use soul dress, eh? Well after all, it’s Allen-Rodore, the dropout swordsman, right?」

「…Yeah, as you say.」

Unfortunately, it’s as he says.

「Pu-hahahahahaha……! You have no talent after all…! Hey hey, what are you going to do? Your prided swordsmanship is sealed, and you can’t even use a soul dress…! If you’re going to give up, now is the time, you know? 」

Raise ridiculed me with repeated provocations.

「I still have another hand to play.」

「…Hee, how amusing. Won’t you please tell me, what kind of hand it is?」

「If swordsmanship is sealed – then I just have to push through with raw strength.」

「Haa? What are you sa…!?」

I put power into my whole body.

「-ZA!」

I pushed him back in that locked swords situation with pure physical strength.

「You… how do you have such brute strength…!?」

「HAAAAAAAA…!」

From there, I answered with diagonal slash, upward slash, downward slash – unleashing slashes by pouring in all my might.

Sword and sword collided, and violent sparks flew.

「Guh, this guy… is not human…」

Raise-san kept on defending my consecutive attacks while still sticking closely to me.

After two minutes passed, finally,

「HA!」

「Ku-guha…」

He was blown away because he couldn’t stand my slashing. Perhaps his grip weakened due to my nonstop consecutive attacks.

「Kuh, ga… gaha…!?」

Due to the impact, he was unable to perform ukemi and rolled across the ground.

「…This is the end. Please surrender.」

〈Three Skeletons〉 have completely given up.

The super close-up battle was overcome by the difference in physical ability.

-Match conclude.

Then, Raise-san who was blown away,

「Kuku… haha… Ahahahhahahahaha!」

All of a sudden, he started laughing like crazy.

「Aa-A… lucky, I… really am lucky…」

He stood up slowly, with incoherent muttering.

(…What is that?)

If you look closely, his right hand – was holding something like a black machine.

「And, Allen-Rodore…? You are super… unlucky!」

The moment he pressed the switch on his right hand.

「!?」

Dazzling light overflowed from my feet and a huge explosion occurred.

「…Kuh, a bomb!?」

I immediately shot Flying shadow with one hand to offset the explosion, but – due to my unfavourable posture and shooting it with one hand, I was pushed away by the explosion.

I rolled on the ground to kill the momentum and performed ukemi.

「Fuha! It is beyond doubt that no human reaction can escape from there! But no matter… It’s over…」

He said and deliberately looked at my right hand.

The explosion blew my sword away and I was completely unarmed.

「…That should be against the rules, though?」

The explosion just now was not the ability of 〈Three Skeletons〉. It is just a plain bomb.

It was probably prepared one day before the First-Year War.

「Haa… the First-Year War, the right to participate in the Sword King Festival… I don’t really care about any of that… You humiliated me… killing you is the only thing I want…!」

Saying that, he thrust his hands out in front of him.

「Die -〈Skeleton Gluttony〉!」

At that moment, the three dragons broke apart and transformed into one giant dragon.

「GURORORORORORO…!」

The giant dragon’s roar sounded like rumbling in the ground, and it drew closer with its jaws wide open as though trying to swallow me whole.

The approaching giant bone dragon – I grabbed its skull forcefully and smashed it to the ground to the fullest of my strength.

「HA!」

A tremendous shattering sound rang out and bones flew everywhere across the stage.

「GU-GURORO-RO…」

The red light in the eye sockets vanished as soon as the bone dragon was shattered to pieces..

「…Ha?」

Raise-san was petrified on the spot with his mouth agape.

「Unfortunately, it seems that I was the lucky one.」

If he had prepared something other than a bomb, something more powerful – I certainly wouldn’t have walked away unharmed.

「As long as you use underhanded means – You can’t beat me.」

I closed the distance with him and delivered a strong punch to his abdomen.

「Ka-haa…!?」

All the air in his lungs was knocked out and he fainted, crouching on the spot.

「W-WHAT!? The match was concluded with bare hands! The showdown between two problem childs, is the complete victory of Allen Rodore, who displayed overwhelming difference in strength!」

After successfully winning the first round, I advanced to the second round.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep