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

===Part 3===

The sound of ceiling fragments falling down signaled the beginning of the blade dance.

(&mdash;Decide the match in the first stroke.)

Holding the shining Demon Slayer in one hand, Kamito took half a step sideways.

The fastest flash. Absolute Blade Arts, First Form&mdash;Purple Lightning's posture.

The wind from Leonora's sword swept up debris as she charged. Raising the Dragon Slayer overhead in preparation for a downward chop, she intended to decide the victor with a one-hit-kill just as she declared.

Leonora's elemental waffe was a massive sword, unsuited for turning back for defense.

Using it preemptively in a charging assault was the logical thing to do.

(If I get hit directly I'll probably get blown away in one hit.)

The pressure bursting from the sword made Leonora seem like a completely different person compared to before. Even back when she was rampaging from the Dragon Blood's effects, Kamito did not feel such an intimidating presence from her.

Probably because she was no longer confused? Something had changed her sword.

Kamito could not be sure what the actual reason was.

(...However, I can't lose either!)

Just as the wind from the sword swept across the top of his hair, in that very instant&mdash;

Kamito took a step with explosive power from his legs.

"Absolute Blade Arts, First Form&mdash;Purple Lightning."

A flash of the blade akin to lightning.

Its true essence&mdash;nothing but a ''simple straight thrust''.

Even so, it was a technique that reached an entirely different dimension when taken to the limit.

In a battle against an elementalist, it could be described as a one-hit kill. In the first match during the Blade Dance three years ago, this was precisely the move that struck down Velsaria and the Silent Fortress with one strike of the sword.

(&mdash;Success!)

Evading the front tip of the massive sword by the slimmest of margins, Kamito followed his momentum to crash towards Leonora's chest.

As sparks flew from the friction between steel, then&mdash;

(&mdash;What!?)

An acute metallic noise rang out.

The trajectory of Kamito's sword was deflected slightly by an invisible obstacle.

(&mdash;Protective spirit magic!?)

Kamito clicked his tongue mentally.

Very likely, she had cast it when charging.

(...She swept up the debris cunningly to avoid her chanting from being detected?)

Although spirit magic with the dragon attribute was hard to control and not very versatile, it was the strongest class in terms of physical enhancement of the body. Also, rather than covering the entire body, it achieved its effects by shrinking the defensive area or raising its strength to the maximum limit.

For example, had Kamito aimed for her throat instead of her chest, the match would be over already. However, Leonora saw through his target most splendidly.

Instincts built from a solid foundation of experience&mdash;Indeed she was an elementalist among the best of the best.

Although the deflected slash swept over her shoulder, Leonora continued to charge and collided using her entire weight.

Crash&mdash;the blunt sound of violent impact between bones was heard.

Kamito's body was sent flying, crashing into the ground a distance away.

Leonora should have experienced the same impact but did not seem injured at all. This was because a contract with a dragon spirit conferred physical reinforcement upon her body.

(Hmm...)

Finding his vision shaking violently, Kamito had apparently suffered a concussion.

Even so, Kamito was still able to discern the approaching danger and swiftly jumped aside.

In that instant, the Dragon Slayer swung down. The instant the floor made of spirit crystal was struck by the tip of the sword, sparks flew and the floor shattered like glass.

Terminus Est was surely capable of enduring a blow from the Dragon Slayer, but the wielder Kamito was a separate matter. He had no wish to engage in a battle of pure strength against a dragon elementalist whose body was physically strengthened.

"Kamito-kun!"

Fianna's scream was heard.

Following the momentum of his sideways leap, Kamito stepped on the wall, took a somersault and readjusted his stance.

Although Leonora's arm strength was immense, allowing her to swing the massive sword freely, the downside to these highly destructive single strikes was the great range of motion required for the swings.

&mdash;Taking advantage of the momentary opening, Kamito instantly charged.

(This will work...!)

His gaze met with Leonora who was about to swing her great sword.

Turning the hilt that was carved with a dragon towards him&mdash;

(...!)

A certain thought flashed through Kamito's mind.

The instant before he stepped into the opening, he shifted his center of gravity slightly.

Immediately, a crimson heat beam was fired from the dragon carving.

The heat beam flew over Kamito's neck, destroying the wall behind him completely.

"...So it's capable of a trick like that!"

Giving no time for a breather, the Dragon Slayer swept horizontally.

The intense wind from the sword caused Kamito to lose balance.

Leonora did not miss the excellent opportunity. Instantly, she shifted her grip on the sword's hilt and swung it up high.

"Yes...!"

"...!"

At this distance, even if Kamito could dodge the sword itself, he would still be smashed by the shockwave&mdash;

(...Please endure this for a while, Est!)

Kamito infused maximum divine power into the Demon Slayer and blocked the hit.

Light flashed past. The impact sounded as if the noise would rupture eardrums.

"Gah... Ohhhh...."

Kamito barely managed to block the sword.

"It's not... Over...!"

However, Kamito was pushed down by the momentum.

"...This, monstrous strength...!"

"Hoho, I'll take that as a compliment."

Amidst the crossed swords, Leonora's bright red face pressed near before Kamito's eyes.

It was an expression filled with utter enjoyment of this blade dance.

Watching her pure and innocent expression, Kamito felt as though he would be mesmerized in an instant.

"I have never had such a rousing and exhilarating blade dance before, Kazehaya Kamito."

"I am honored to hear that."

Kamito relaxed the tension in his face and smiled wryly.

"You're rather composed here. But even for you, reversing this unfavorable posture would be&mdash;"

Halfway through her sentence, Leonora's face froze.

An intense flash of light was being generated from Kamito's leather-gloved left hand.

A short sword of steel manifested in that hand.

This was the only spirit magic that Kamito knew, Weapon Forging.

With a flash of the short sword's blade, Kamito slashed lightly through Leonora's fingers which she was using to grip her weapon.

There was no bleeding because physical damage was instantly converted into psychological damage. However, the pain caused Leonora to frown and weakened the sword's force slightly.

Instantly, Kamito parried the sword to the side and escaped from his position of being pressed down. Then&mdash;

"Because this does not belong to orthodox swordsmanship, Greyworth used to correct me&mdash;"

Holding the short sword and the Demon Slayer in his left and right hands respectively, Kamito explained.

"I actually started out as a dual wielder!"

"Hmm..."
[[image:STnBD V10 181.jpg|thumb]]

Crashing towards Leonora's chest while she was still off-balance, Kamito made sharp slices with the short sword. As soon as Leonora switched to defense, he immediately attacked using the Demon Slayer.

As sparks flew and scattered from the exchange of offense and defense, it looked like a magnificent dance to an observer&mdash;hence that was why duels between elementalists were known as blade dances.

Then the brief dance finally approached its conclusion.

"&mdash;O demon dragon Nidhogg, unleash your wrath in my sword!"

Heeding Leonora's call, the Dragon Slayer's blade shone brightly.

"Magical equipment release&mdash;Balmung is its name!"

"Unbelievable, magical equipment release...!?"

Kamito's eyes widened.

Magical equipment release&mdash;In other words, an elemental waffe's release of its true name. Depending on the type of the spirit being used, a contracted spirit's normally restrained power could be unleashed all at once.

The howling winds of the sword instantly vaporized the short sword created by Weapon Forging and even pushed Terminus Est back.

Leonora was surrounded by a golden-colored tornado.

&mdash;No, that was not wind. Rather, the burgeoning divine power was being released from all over her body to an extent that was visible to the naked eye.

(She's gambling everything on this move to decide the battle huh&mdash;!)

The initial exchanges were all undertaken in preparation for this move, because activating the magical equipment release required rousing the elemental waffe through a blade dance.

(...However, magical equipment releases are extremely dangerous.)

Releasing restraints was synonymous to letting a spirit go into a berserk state temporarily.

Expanding divine power gushed from Leonora's surroundings. This was proof that her demon spirit was forcibly releasing divine power.

In this kind of situation, even someone of Leonora's caliber could not sustain this for long.

"You said you hoped for a swift duel, Kazehaya Kamito!"

Leonora lifted the Dragon Slayer above her head. Its rumbling howls became even louder.

"This is my strongest sword&mdash;"

"Fianna, protect yourself well!"

Kamito shouted out hastily.

Even though Leonora had no such intentions, it was currently very easy for Fianna to get caught up into things.

(If possible, I want to save ''that move'' for the last, but...)

Kamito knew he would be defeated unless he went all out. In that case&mdash;

(Est, I'm relying on you!)

&mdash;Yes, Kamito. I am your sword, your wish is my command!

Kamito heard Est's voice in his mind.

At the same time, the Demon Slayer's blade gave off light several times brighter than usual.

Kamito took half a step to the side and quietly stayed still as he waited for Leonora's next move.

The posture he took was that of a counterattack, the strongest anti-elementalist form.

In her current state, Leonora was fully adequate as an opponent. This was an excellent opportunity for Kamito to test if he had truly mastered his understanding of Greyworth's secret technique.

To take on the strongest sword head on.

Were he to lose here, it implied that Kamito could not hope to defeat Rubia Elstein.

"&mdash;O dragon, devour my body and unleash your wrath!"

Leonora roared.

Balmung shone with golden splendor as it chopped right down at Kamito&mdash;

In that instant, Kamito took action.

The Absolute Blade's secret technique was no ordinary sword counter. One needed to sense the flow of divine power in the incoming attack and synchronize with the flow while engaging in the blade dance&mdash;Its true essence could be described as closer to a princess maiden's ritual dance performance in comparison to a blade dance.

Then&mdash;

(In the instant the blades clash, cut the ''root'' of the flow&mdash;)

Rather than relying on vision, one had to see through by feeling.

A failed activation of the technique would lead to nothing but defeat.

The Demon Slayer and the Dragon Slayer. The two swords collided with each other.

A flash of light erupted&mdash;Kamito was able to see within it.

The root where the flow of divine power was concentrated.

"Absolute Blade Arts, Final Form&mdash;Last Strike!"

An instantaneous flash of the sword shattered the Dragon Slayer and skewered Leonora.