Chivalry of a Failed Knight: Volume 6 (eBook)

Riku Misora (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025
250 Seiten
J-Novel Club (Verlag)
978-1-7183-4722-9 (ISBN)

Infos

In order to take down the Akatsuki members in the B block, Stella declares that she'll fight them all in a four-against-one! Will her burning desire for vengeance be enough to see her through this battle where the odds are stacked against her?! Meanwhile, Ikki is once again reunited with Shinomiya Amane, and he finally learns why the young boy gave him such bad vibes on their first meeting. Now that he knows what Amane's power really is-and the darkness he carries in his heart-will Ikki be able to find the resolve to defeat him? The Seven Stars Battle Festival is only just getting started!

Textauszug

Chapter 5: Mowing Them Down

In the past, there had been plans to develop a new city along Osaka Bay, but then funding had dried up halfway through development, and for years, a half-built ghost town had languished. But now, those buildings had been converted to hotels that were all fully booked, and the once-empty Bay Dome was currently packed with over a hundred thousand spectators. The arrival of the Seven Stars Battle Festival had breathed new life into this failed megaconstruction project.

“You better not disappoint us after all that big talk, Crimson Princess!”

“Guess we’ll get to see just how strong Akatsuki’s students really are now.”

“Mikoto-chan, I’m rooting for you!”

As the signal to start the match rang out, the spectators went wild with excitement. But unlike the audience, the fighters didn’t seem particularly thrilled by this turn of events. Rather, they all looked furious, and Tatara Yui was the angriest of them all.

Don’t underestimate us, bitch!

They were, of course, pissed off at Stella for insinuating that they were so weak she could beat all four of them at once. The Icy Sneer, Tsuruya Mikoto, was happy with this turn of events since all she cared about was victory, but the members of Akatsuki hated being underestimated, especially Tatara. They’d agreed to Stella’s terms because they’d known that doing so would put them in an advantageous position, but that didn’t mean they had to like it.

I’ll make you pay for treating us like small fry!

“Hey, Hiraga. Since this is a tournament match, no one’s gonna complain if I ‘accidentally’ kill her, right?”

“Heh heh heh, that’s right. In high-profile tournaments like this, accidents happen all the time. Our client understands that as well. He’s a knight too, after all.”

“Geh heh heh. Then I guess I don’t need to hold back!” A feral grin spread across Tatara’s face as Hiraga, the acting captain of the Akatsuki team, gave her the go-ahead to go wild. “No need to blunt your edge this time! Let’s saw our way through her guts, Crawling Centipede!”

Tatara revved the engine of her chainsaw Device, Crawling Centipede, and set the chain whirring. The toothed edge of her chainsaw did indeed look like a crawling centipede as it spun, and the engine let out a high-pitched scream as it warmed up. She dragged her chainsaw along the floor as she ran at Stella, gouging the ground behind her.

“Tatara’s making the first move! She’s charging fearlessly at Stella! How will the Crimson Princess— Oh?!” As the announcer turned to Stella, he let out a shocked gasp. “The battle’s begun, but Stella still hasn’t summoned her Device! What’s she thinking?!”

“Wh-What are you doing?! Hurry up and get your weapon out!” one of the spectators shouted.

“Come on, the battle’s already started! Did you not hear the signal or something?!”

“There’s no way she didn’t. So why isn’t she summoning her weapon?!”

The audience couldn’t figure out what Stella was thinking. She was doing nothing to impede Tatara, who was closing in blisteringly fast, her black hair whipping in the wind behind her.

“Diiiiie!”

Tatara swung her chainsaw up at Stella’s neck. But it was a slow, wide swing that someone of Stella’s caliber could easily react to. She leaned back, just barely dodging the weapon’s tip.

“Gah ha ha ha ha!”

Tatara didn’t seem to care that Stella had dodged, and she kept on swinging wildly at her, relying solely on brute strength. There was no technique behind her attacks; she almost looked like a child play-fighting with a toy sword. Except she had a deadly chainsaw in her hand rather than a plastic toy. There was no need for technique when even a glancing blow would cut deep by virtue of it being a spinning blade. Tatara’s chainsaw could cut through the hardened stone of the ring floor, meaning it would have no trouble slicing through flesh.

“What a deadly offensive! Tatara’s pressing forward with her chainsaw, knowing that Stella won’t block!”

As sloppy as Tatara’s swings were, she was attacking so much that it was getting difficult for Stella to keep dodging. She needed to fight back, yet she still hadn’t summoned Lævateinn.

“Tatara’s really hit her stride! She’s not giving Stella any time to rest! She’s swinging that chainsaw around like a veritable dervish! But Stella still hasn’t brought out her Device! With how sloppy Tatara’s swings are, it feels like there’s an opening to counterattack, so I wonder why...”

“Whoa! That was real close!”

“Is it just me or is Tatara starting to read Stella’s dodges?!”

“I can’t bear to watch this! Hurry up and draw your sword, Stella!”

The audience was starting to get confused. The match had long since started, and Tatara had been whaling on Stella for a while now, but she still refused to draw her sword. They couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Fortunately, former KOK A-league fighter Muroto answered the question that was on everyone’s mind.

“She’s probably measuring the timing of Tatara’s attacks.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Remember the third match of the B block, when Tatara was fighting Rentei Academy’s Niidome? She was able to reflect his battle axe with some invisible force, then defeated him when he was off-balance from having his strongest swing knocked away. Tatara’s Blazer powers likely allow her to reflect any impact. That’s one of the most powerful abilities you can possess when it comes to combat. If Stella attacks without a plan, she’ll just get her sword reflected and leave herself wide open. In fact, considering how powerful her blows are, she’s liable to defeat herself with her own attack.”

Indeed, Tatara’s Noble Art, Total Reflect, grew stronger the more powerful her opponent’s attacks were. If Stella launched a full-power slash at Tatara and it got reflected, it was possible that the recoil would shatter both of her arms.

“In order to defeat Reflectors like Tatara, you need to figure out the process by which they activate their reflective powers, as well as any limitations they might have,” Muroto added. “That’s why simply dodging while analyzing your opponent is the correct strategy here.”

“I see, so she’s keeping her cards close to her chest and waiting for an opening that she can take advantage of with a lightning-fast attack?”

“That’s what it looks like to me.”

As they watched their friend fight, Alisuin turned to Shizuku.

“It reminds me of how Ikki acted during that one crisis. Do you remember?” she asked.

“There isn’t a single moment I’ve spent with Onii-sama that I would ever forget. But I take it you’re referring to when we fought the Rebellion terrorists in the shopping mall?” That was before the selection matches had even started. The four of them had gone to a local shopping mall, which had then been attacked by a Rebellion looter squad. The leader of that squad, Bishou, had possessed a similar power to Tatara’s. “Stella-san was right there when Onii-sama cut that man down. I’m sure she remembers the tactics he used to beat him.”

Ikki had launched an attack that was too fast for Bishou to see, taking him by surprise before he’d even had a chance to activate his reflection ability. Surpassing your opponent’s reaction time was one way to overcome a Reflector. It was actually the most common strategy Blazers employed when facing one. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for Stella to try that tactic. However, Alisuin shook her head.

“But Stella-chan won’t be able to copy what Ikki did back then,” she said.

“Why’s that?” the Doctor Knight, Yakushi Kiriko, asked. She was sitting with Alisuin and Shizuku.

“It’s a matter of speed,” Alisuin explained. “Stella-chan’s attacks are exceptionally powerful, but her sword is much slower than Ikki’s Thunderclap. On top of that, Lævateinn is a much larger sword than Intetsu. Her swings naturally have to be wider and slower because of that. I doubt she’ll be able to unleash a swing that’s so fast it’s impossible to react to.”

Honestly, even if she is capable of slashing faster than Tatara can react, I doubt a trick like that is going to work on the famed Unmovable.

As someone who’d spent time working for Rebellion, Alisuin knew just how strong their Blazers could be. She was right to be worried too. After a few more swings, Tatara smirked derisively at Stella.

Ha! You stupid bitch! I bet you think if you can hit me before I have a chance to react, I won’t be able to reflect your attack back at you. Technically, that’s true, but you better not think I’ll go down as easily as that small fry Bishou! I’m from a family of assassins who’ve served Rebellion for generations! I’m built different!

Tatara was nothing like Bishou, who’d stepped onto the path of evil to indulge in his vices. She was a born and bred assassin who’d been taught to kill before she’d even known right from wrong. And her education had been extremely thorough. Ever since her third birthday, her own father had trained her to be ready to activate Total Reflect at any time, when even the slightest hint of danger presented itself....

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 20.6.2025
• Reihe/Serie: Chivalry of a Failed Knight
• Illustrationen: Riku Misora
• Übersetzer: Riku Misora
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• Schlagworte: Engagement • Fantasy Romance • Light Novel • Little Sister • Magic Academy • teenage protagonist
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-4722-7 / 1718347227
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-4722-9 / 9781718347229