Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume10 Chapter5 (section)

===Part 1===

...Drip. Drip.

Water droplets fell from the top of the limestone cavern. White steam swirled and rose.

Heated by the ancient flames, the underground water helped relax stiff muscles.

Although it was no time to indulge in leisure, a final purification was necessary before they assaulted the enemy's main camp. Kamito carefully washed his body as he tried as much as possible to reach peak condition.

The Calamity Queen&mdash;Rubia Elstein.

The other Ren Ashbell and Strongest Blade Dancer whose identity had been uncovered.

(...Am I able to defeat her?)

Her power undoubtedly dwarfed Kamito's in his current state. Even if he retrieved all his senses from three years ago, it was still uncertain whether he would be able to be a match&mdash;That was how things stood.

Kamito's only chance of victory lay in&mdash;

(&mdash;The Absolute Blade's secret technique, Last Strike.)

Kamito opened and closed his fingers several times, trying to confirm his feel for the sword.

The secret technique learnt from Greyworth was Kamito's final trump card.

However, to be honest, he was not certain if he had truly mastered that secret technique.

The Last Strike was an ultimate countering technique using the sword. It could not be used unless Kamito was facing an enemy of the same level.

(By the way, how strange...)

Kamito frowned and looked up at the ceiling of the limestone cavern. Even though it was now known that the true identity of the other Strongest Blade Dancer, Ren Ashbell, was Rubia Elstein, there was something impossible to accept about it. Namely&mdash;

&mdash;''She was far too strong'', this simple fact.

Indeed, as a former Queen, the total amount of divine power accumulated in Rubia Elstein's body should far surpass most elementalists. Although an abundance of divine power would not result in a decisive difference in potency, it was undeniable that people with greater reserves of divine power were able to command more powerful spirits for longer durations.

However, princess maidens serving at the Divine Ritual Institute basically received no combat training at all.

Hence, she was supposed to be completely unversed in swordsmanship, just like Fianna.

Rumors regarding the Calamity Queen as a master of the sword were completely unheard of.

The first thing that came to mind was the usage of a Cursed Armament Seal to strengthen the body, but even Cursed Armament Seals were unable to turn someone untrained in martial arts into a sword master.

(...Even an Elemental Lord's miracle can't do that, right?)

&mdash;Throb. Again, the acute headache returned.

(...Damn it... What on earth is going on?)

&mdash;That pain is proof that your power is about to awaken.

''The voice very similar to hers'' resounded in his mind.

&mdash;Very soon, you shall become the Demon King who brings ruin and destruction to the world.

(...Shut, up... Already... Shut, up...!)

Covering both ears, Kamito submerged his face in water.

(Shut up! Shut up, shut up shut up...!)

He yelled stubbornly in order to drown out the voice.

"&mdash;Please be calm, Master."

Suddenly, Kamito heard another voice from behind.

"...!?"

Raising his face out of the water, Kamito looked back.

A swaying figure could be seem emerging from the other side of the steam.

...Not Rinslet or any of the girls, for they should be over with Iseria, performing purification at a place a short distance away.

Next, Kamito glanced at a shaded position in the rocks. The Demon Slayer and the Vorpal Sword were both in sword form, resting against the rock.

...The figure behind the steam did not say anything more.

"...Who are you?"

Kamito intensified his tone of voice and swiftly swung his arm.

The wind pressure caused the surrounding steam to disperse instantly&mdash;

"Meow&mdash;!"

The figure emitted a strange sounding scream.

"...Wha!"

Kamito's eyes widened as he was rendered completely speechless.

Appearing from behind the mist was&mdash;

A fully wet and naked beauty.

Her body was graceful and slim like a beast's, with mildly bulging breasts. The scarlet hair was at shoulder length. For some reason, there were adorable cat ears on her head.

Rather than make any attempt to cover up her nude body that was like a work of art, the beautiful girl simply froze.

"..."

"..."

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

Then immediately, the beauty blushed before his eyes.

"Meow, meooooow!"

Frantically, she tried to flee&mdash;

Splash!

...But she ended up falling spectacularly, creating a column of water.

"...Meow, meooow... Choke, chooooooke...!"

"H-Hey, are you okay!?"

Kamito rushed over and picked up the drowning cat-eared beauty in his arms.

"Kyah, w-what are you doing!?"

"I-I'm sorry... Eh, a tail!?"

Kamito's eyes stared wide open.

Caught in his hand&mdash;''a tail seemed as if it were made of fire''.

(...W-Wait a minute? This tail, could it be...)

Kamito suddenly reacted and gazed intently at the cat-eared girl's scarlet eyes.

"...Are you Scarlet... eh?"

"M-Meow..."

The drenched scarlet-haired girl nodded with embarrassment.