Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume9 Chapter7 (section)

===Part 1===

"...!"

The earth was shaking violently.

As Kamito and Ellis were rendered speechless, above them, a demon shrouded in crimson flames let loose a deep roar.

The atmosphere trembled and the sweeping gust of scorching air seared skin.

Gazing up at the massive demon overhead, Kamito groaned.

"Muir..."

"What is it, Onii-sama? You don't want to play with Muir?"

The innocently smiling girl -- Muir Alenstarl.

A snake pattern was entwined around her right arm, glowing ominously.

This was not a spirit seal.

Rather, for this girl known as the Monster, this was the abnormal ability she was born with -- Jester's Vise.

In order to control this abnormal ability, a Cursed Armament Seal had been implanted.

"If you want to play, isn't it a bit late at night?"

"Ara, Muir likes playing at night."

Muir licked her lips.

"...Ellis, jump quickly!"

Kamito instantly yelled.

The giant demon flame spirit casually swung the flaming whip.

Accompanied by a massive boom, the rubble on the ground exploded and rained down as scorching lava.

(...W-What kind of strength is this!?)

Jumping into the air, Kamito swallowed hard.

The ground was split apart as if it had suffered an earthquake as well as becoming scorched and burned tragically.

Although there were similarities, the demon flame spirit's whip was closer to a blunt weapon like a club compared to Claire's Flametongue which included the traits of a slashing weapon.

...Even without a direct hit, getting swept in the wake of the weapon's aftershock was probably enough to kiss goodbye to this world.

If that kind of thing keeps being swung unhindered--

(How utterly terrifying...)

Moving along the slanting wall of the ruins, Kamito jumped repeatedly. As a first step, it was imperative to find high ground to seek refuge from the flames. Naturally, he realized that this would not last for long--

"Kamito!"

Ellis caught up to him using Flight magic.

Landing by Kamito's side, she glared at the demon flame spirit that dyed the entire dark night red.

"...What a terrifying spirit. Most likely, it is a tactical-class militarized spirit."

"Yeah. Muir is an expert amongst militarized spirit users."

Back when Kamito was teamed up with her at the Instructional School, her main responsibility was large-scale destruction.

In terms of pure destructive power, Muir's ability even surpassed Kamito.

"Fufu, as expected of Onii-sama. To think you escaped Valaraukar's attack."

Sitting on the demon flame spirit's shoulder, Muir laughed with delight.

--Suddenly, her merciless blue eyes were turned towards Ellis.

"Ponytail-neechan. Leave Onii-sama's side immediately. Within two seconds."

"...!"

This was the gaze of a merciless murderer.

Feeling the immobilizing intensity of the killing intent, Ellis faltered for an instant. However.

"--Refuse."

"Hmm?"

"...I-I said I refuse!"

She glared back at Muir straight on.

No, not only did she do that--

"E-Ellis, what on earth are you doing!?"

"S-Shut up!"

Blushing, Ellis even went as far as to embrace Kamito's arm tightly.

"...I-I will never leave!"

"Ellis..."

Kamito's arm was sandwiched between her supple breasts.

...Despite the kind of situation they were in currently, Kamito could not help but feel his heart racing.

--At this time.

"Eh, I see--"

The air that was being surrounded by the demon flame spirit's heat instantly froze.

"You really want to die that badly, Onee-chan?"

Muir's blue eyes lost their luster as the Cursed Armament Seal on her right arm shone with red light.

Instantly, Valaraukar roared as if going mad.

"Very well. Before I play with Onii-sama, I will play my fill with you first."

Muir smiled innocently.

"I will string you up naked like a puppet, humiliating you nonstop in Onii-sama's view until you scream and beg in pain. Then I'll have you drawn and quartered. Finally, I'll incinerate you completely into ashes!"

Intense flames spewed out from the demon's black lava-like body.

The flaming whip traced out a red trail as it swung down, looking as though it was ripping the atmosphere apart.

Ellis instantly released Kamito and jumped from the ground.

"I am the witch who gallops across the blue sky -- Air Wings!"

Enveloped in wind conjured by spirit magic, she flew through the gaps in the scorching flames.

"Ellis!"

Kamito was just about to rush over--

Seeing Ellis turn her head back and gestured with her eyes, he instantly understood her plan.

(...She's deliberately provoking Muir.)

During this time while Ellis acted as bait, he was to defeat Valaraukar.

Because they had partnered up in the Sylphid Knights all this time, Kamito was able to understand immediately.

"...This is totally reckless."

That said, Kamito could not afford to waste this opportunity that she created.

Kamito adjusted his grip on the Demon Slayer in his hand.

"--We're up, Est."

He infused all his divine power into the blade.

As if illuminating the entire dark night, Terminus Est gave off dazzling brilliance.

The energy exhausted during the battle with the Forsaken Spirits had almost recovered completely.

Slicing through the flames, Kamito rushed forward towards the roaring demon flame spirit.

Being able to head straight forward was a good thing, seeing as the surroundings had turned into a sea of fire. Running along the ruins that provided a foothold above the ground surface that was being devoured by flowing lava, he searched for a path to approach.

A casual swing of the flaming whip struck the ground, pulverizing the ruins.

Whether it was due to madness brought on by the power of the Jester's Vise or the original spirit itself was unstable, the demon flame spirit's skill with the whip was extremely crude and hence it was very easy to predict its trajectory.

Compared to Claire's splendid whip techniques, it was as far apart as heaven and earth.

(That said--)

The whip's overwhelming destructive power completely pulverized the surrounding territory, almost making up for the crudeness of technique. Even if one escaped the whip's direct attack, a grazing blow from the super high temperature flames produced would cause fatal injuries.

"This reminds me of the time when I soloed an archdemon class spirit..."

Wiping the sweat off his brow, Kamito groaned.

Striking down incoming masses of flying lava, he closed in.

If he did not hurry -- amidst these intense heat waves, Ellis could not endure for long.

Or perhaps, even before that, Muir might recover her calm rational judgment.

This was Kamito's second time fighting the Instructional School's Number Two, Muir Alenstarl the Monster. The first battle happened back at Ragna Ys--

She was commanding the powerful annihilation spirit Tiamat that time.

(Although I barely pulled through last time...)

It was because Kamito's combat style was well-suited to countering spirits geared towards wide area damage.

In terms of pure power, Muir was superior. Furthermore, this Valaraukar was most likely a militarized spirit intended for single combat.

In a direct confrontation, it was not just troublesome for one would be overwhelmed by its strength.

Furthermore--

(...Back then, Muir didn't seem like she was serious in wanting to fight me.)

Valaraukar roared as raging flames spewed forth from all over its body.

"...!"

Kamito instantly halted and stabbed the Demon Slayer into the ground.

Immediately, an intense shockwave reached Kamito.

Heated by the flames, the air swept forth like a storm.

"Guh... What is this power..."

Holding on for dear life to the sword stabbed into the ground, Kamito looked around for Ellis' position.

"Ellis!"

--He found her instantly.

Struck squarely by the shockwave in midair, Ellis was now falling towards the ground.

Below her, the ground had already turned into a sea of lava.

(...I must make it in time!)

Pulling his sword out, Kamito performed a rolling maneuver and rushed forward.

--At this moment, the whip swung down, forming a barrier of flame to obstruct his path.

"Don't interfere, Onii-sama. Muir is currently playing with that Onee-chan."

"...!"

Sitting on the flame demon's shoulder, Muir giggled.

"...Kamito, I am fine!"

Ellis' voice came from the other side of the flame barrier.

...It looked like she managed to use Flight magic in time to avoid the dangers of crashing down.

Kamito breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ara, how resilient, Onee-chan."

Muir's gray-colored hair began to stand on end from anger.

Kamito did not fail to notice her slightly trembling hands.

(She's over straining herself...)

Muir's abnormal power -- the Jester's Vise, had a critical shortcoming.

Namely, duration.

Commanding such a powerful militarized spirit also placed an extraordinary burden upon Muir herself.

If the spirit did not break first from her usage, Muir would suffer the fate of destruction herself.

(...At most three, no, five minutes or so.)

Running around as he stalled for time -- suddenly, this thought occurred to Kamito.

(...No, that's not going to work.)

Instantly, he shook his head to reject the idea.

...Retreating under such circumstances was impossible.

Escape routes were all sealed by the collapsed ruins and the barrier of flame. Ellis probably could escape using flight magic, but fleeing while dodging the flaming whip was very difficult.

"This leaves breaking through by force only."

Kamito readied the Demon Slayer in a stance and slashed towards the barrier of flame in front of him.

These were not the same flames as the ones Claire usually used when going easy on someone.

Instead, these were super high temperature flames that turned everything into charcoal on contact.

Kamito charged towards the flame barrier.

"...Onii-sama!?"

Muir cried out anxiously.

Was she staying wary of Kamito's apparently reckless behavior or was she worrying about his safety--

In any case, Kamito continued to accelerate nonchalantly and infused divine power into the sacred sword's blade.

"Absolute Blade Arts, Fourth Form -- Blaze Slash!"

With a vigorous intensity, he unleashed the attack in one breath. Turning himself into a tornado, he flew into the flames.

This was a special sword skill for countering the flame attribute by using the vortex of wind generated from the slash to sweep away the flames and absorb them.

Charging to the other side of the flame barrier, Kamito found Ellis waiting right there for him.

"Ellis, we're up!"

"Yes--!"

Holding Ray Hawk in her hand, Ellis flew into the fiery crimson sky.

"...Tsk, what a foolish Onee-chan. You will be struck down no matter how many times you try!"

Muir's Cursed Armament Seal glowed ominously.

With the release of the Jester's Vise's power, the flame demon began to rampage.

Its roar turned into a shockwave fired towards Ellis.

"--Evil wind, go forth and rampage."

Ellis' Ray Hawk gave off an intense flash of light.

The blades of wind cancelled out the shockwave and headed straight for the demon flame spirit.

"Something like that can't possibly work against Valaraukar!"

Muir was right. The wild blades of wind were all deflected by the skin of lava.

As expected, an ordinary attack could not harm the spirit.

However.

"Of course I know that!"

Ellis' attack was simply a smokescreen.

During this time, Kamito had closed in on the flame demon by traveling along the ground.

"...Wha!?"

Leaping along the ground, he swiftly approached beneath the legs of the demon flame spirit.

Like an axe for chopping a great tree, the Demon Slayer was swung.

In the next instant.

"Absolute Blade Arts, First Form -- Purple Lightning!"

Kamito unleashed a sword technique for localized destruction, exploding at Valaraukar's ankle.

R-ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAR--!

Losing balance, the demon flame spirit's massive body swayed as if about to fall.

Even though it was a tactical-class militarized spirit, this result was perfectly reasonable after suffering an attack from the strongest elemental waffe of the steel attribute, Terminus Est.

Roaring angrily, the flame demon collapsed upon its knees on the burning ground.

The tremors produced caused surrounding ruins to collapse one after another.

To avoid being flattened by the gigantic body, Kamito swiftly disengaged. Distancing himself, he readied his sword once more.

"Muir. I'm sorry but we can't stay and play with you any further."

"..."

Muir's blue eyes gazed calmly at Kamito.

The ash-gray twintails fluttered in the wind blowing against her.

"I see, so Onii-sama too."

"...Hmm?"

"Onii-sama too, hopes to play with Muir."

"...!"

The light vanished from Muir's blue eyes.

Instantly, the kneeling demon produced an intense flash of light from its mouth, engulfing Kamito's body.

"Kamito!"

Ellis' shout sounded like a mournful scream, however.

"...Guh, I never expected it to have an attack like that...!"

Seeing Kamito emerge from the debris, Ellis instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, it was an attack made by the spirit before it regained balance, hence Kamito managed to evade successfully at the very last moment.

Despite the pain from burns causing him to grimace, Kamito continued to grip the Demon Slayer tightly.

Valaraukar propped up one knee, intending to stand up again.

--The only chance was now.

"...Escaping will not work, Onii-sama. If you are unable to move, then just promise you will never ever ever leave Muir's side again."

Branded upon Muir's arm, the Cursed Armament Seal bled profusely.

...From the way it looks, she was being devoured by her abnormal power and gradually going out of control. If she continued to use the Jester's Vise's abnormal power in this manner, she could die in the worst case scenario.

(...As if anyone was going to let that happen!)

Kamito made a flying leap.

Valaraukar's flaming whip proceeded to sweep the scorching hot land.

Fragments of debris flew and scattered. --However, Kamito had long departed from that location.

In that instant, Kamito had sneaked his way into the bosom of the demon flame spirit who was kneeling on one knee.

(--This next strike shall determine the victor!)

From the ground, it was impossible to launch an effective attack against the gigantic demon flame spirit.

However, Kamito was confident.

"Kamito, catch!"

From midair, Ellis aimed beside Kamito's feet and threw Ray Hawk.

Enveloped in a vortex of wind, the spear tip penetrated the ground unerringly.

This was the perfect opportunity created by the tacit understanding within the team's vanguard combo.

"I'm sorry, I'm borrowing this!"

Kamito stepped onto the shaft of the spear that was embedded into the ground at a slant -- In that very instant.

"--O Storm, release thy power!"

Ellis chanted the words of release.

Boom -- !

An intense cyclone instantly began to blow, shooting the spear out from the ground with explosive force.

Standing upon the spear shaft, Kamito flew high into the sky. Then the instant Ray Hawk flew above Valaraukar's head, Kamito leaped from the spear.

"How could this be possible...?!"

Muir stared wide-eyed.

"Muir, let me tell you. This is called a team battle."

No matter how powerful a militarized spirit was, there were limits to solitary power.

Kamito raised the Demon Slayer in midair.

Immediately--

"--Bursting Blossom Spiral Blade Dance - Eighteen Consecutive Strikes!"

The Absolute Blade Arts' anti-spirit technique was unleashed explosively.

Crushing, piercing, slashing, slashing, slashing -- an eighteen-hit combo was delivered in flowing succession.

With each intense eruption of sparks, the demon flame spirit's body was split open.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!"

When the final slash landed on the dead center of its skull, in that very instant--

Valaraukar's gigantic body immediately crashed towards the ground.

However, it was not yet completely destroyed. Such astounding endurance.

"Guh..."

Panting heavily, Kamito supported himself using the upright sword against the ground.

The strain on the body from using the Absolute Blade Arts was extraordinary.

--At this time.

"No way..."

Amidst the sea of flame, Muir murmured, her face all pale.

"Muir..."

"Muir's spirit, how could it lose -- Guh..."

The pallidity of her face was most likely not only due to the shock of losing to Kamito.

(Starting from when she first started controlling the demon flame spirit, over five minutes have already passed...)

Prolonged usage of the Jester's Vise caused Muir's body to reach its limit.

Bright red blood dripped continuously from the Cursed Armament Seal branded on her right arm.

"It's not over... It's not over yet, Onii-sama."

"Stop it. If you continue like this your life will be in danger."

Kamito shrugged slightly, then--

He caught Muir in both arms as she looked like she was about to collapse.

"...Onii...-sama!?"

Muir's body was instantly drained of all strength.

"W-Why..."

"...Muir, I'm sorry. For leaving you alone all this time."

"Onii-sama...!"

He heard Muir's gasp by his ear.

The Instructional School's Monster -- Muir Alenstarl.

Having lost her spirit, she was just a common little girl.

(...In the past, I never noticed this fact.)

He lightly stroked her ash-gray hair.

"Ah, oooh..."

Muir curled up her body as if feeling ticklish.

"...Onii-sama, that's no fair. To think you would do this."

Muir pouted sullenly.

Kamito turned his gaze to her right arm, only to find that the Cursed Armament Seal's glow had vanished.