Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume10 Chapter7 (section)

===Part 1===

Jumping down from the demon dragon's head was a female knight dressed in the military uniform of the country of dragons.

Black hair neatly trimmed to shoulder length. A white beret on her head.

The Knights of the Dragon Emperor's strongest ace&mdash;Leonora Lancaster.

Gazing down at Lily collapsed on the ground, Leonora shrugged slightly.

"Amazing of you to fight me to this extent. Commendable."

"...!"

Despite receiving praise, Lily could only bite her lip in chagrin.

"...A thousand apologies... Cardinal..."

Leonora offered a knight's salute before taking away Lily's magic stone.

Having lost her magic stone, Lily's body disappeared as particles of light.

An imposed transfer to Ragna Ys through teleportation magic.

Without saying a word, Kamito could only watch silently.

Because tainting another elementalist's blade dance through interference was contrary to etiquette.

"Okay&mdash;"

Then Leonora turned towards Kamito.

Naturally, she noticed Kamito's group.

"Kamito, did you come here aiming for the same prey?"

"..."

Despite the familiarity in Leonora's opening remark&mdash;

Kamito understood very well.

Leonora Lancaster's true nature was like a ferocious dragon.

Noble-minded and elegant, fully of chivalry&mdash;and above all, loyal to her combat instincts.

Leonora's black eyes gleamed with delight.

She was like a dragon that had found its ideal prey.

(...However, she doesn't look like she's currently being controlled by Dragon Blood.)

Kamito groaned to himself.

&mdash;Very likely, she was going to be even tougher to handle than during their last battle.

An elementalist's intuition told him.

"You have come here to defeat Ren Ashbell as well?"

"Yes, because she is the most powerful prey in the current Blade Dance festival."

Leonora nodded.

"Then I have a suggestion&mdash;"

Kamito decided to try his luck and request they work together, however:

"However, that prey is slightly less attractive than having a blade dance with you."

"...!"

Leonora released a battle aura that instantly caused shudders down Kamito's spine.

The demon dragon Nidhogg proceeded to moan softly, its ferocious eyes flashing brightly.

Then&mdash;

"&mdash;Divine soul of the jet black evil dragon, turn into the power in my hand!"

Heeding Leonora's call, the dragon spirit Nidhogg transformed into a massive sword whose length equaled her height&mdash;the Dragon Slayer elemental waffe.

(...Negotiations won't work, apparently.)

Left without a choice, Kamito readied the Demon Slayer.

As much as he wanted to save Claire as quickly as possible&mdash;

Perhaps due to the battle against Lily, Leonora's fighting spirit was roused to a maximum.

This wild dragon probably could not be brought under control without a fight.

(...Besides, I already promised her.)

&mdash;The next time we speak, we will have a blade dance together.

Back then, Kamito had indeed agreed to her proposal.

The Blade Dance stage was where blade dances were performed as offerings by elementalists with their respective Wishes on the line. One was not supposed to evade battle when faced with direct challenges.

"Kamito-kun..."

Worried, Fianna grabbed Kamito's sleeve.

"Don't worry. It'll be over quickly."

Kamito stared at Leonora before him as he spoke.

Naturally, this did not imply that Leonora was easy to defeat. What Kamito meant was that this blade dance was a clash of strength rather than a contest of skill, hence it was going to be a quick decisive match&mdash;That was what he was trying to say.

(...In that sense, I must thank Leonora.)

If Kamito had to face Lily who was skilled in taking advantages of openings, surely he would be dragged into a rather lengthy and protracted battle.

"...I understand."

Fianna swiftly moved towards the wall.

Scarlet simply sat obediently in front of the door.

"&mdash;This is it, Leonora."

Facing Leonora, Kamito infused divine power into the Demon Slayer.

"I have no intention of engaging in a graceful blade&mdash;Let's attack with full strength on the get go."

"&mdash;As you wish, Kamito."

The strongest ace of the Knights of the Dragon Emperor smiled happily.