Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume18 Chapter11 (section)

===Part 3===

Two moons, red and white, were hanging in the sky over the Academy.

Looking at Astral Zero's moon, Kamito was rooted to the spot in astonishment.

"What's happening, Est?"

Even though he asked his partner, she did not reply.

She was evidently focusing her full attention to analyzing the Dunamis angel.

(&mdash;Millennia said it was to make the human realm and Astral Zero overlap.)

Astral Shift referred to such a phenomenon?

(What's the purpose of doing that...?)

But wait, the enemy in front of him was more important right now.

The Dumanis kept rewriting the demon spirits flowing out of the gate to become spirit detonations.

Perhaps due to the Astral Shift's effect, the surroundings were gradually corrupted by the demon realm&mdash;

The demon spirits serving as raw materials became much larger than before.

...Kamito dared not imagine their firepower.

The angel's wings glowed with blistering light.

&mdash;At the same time, it swung down its massive sword like an executioner.

Seven spirit detonations formed from large demon spirits instantly rushed at Kamito in a charging attack.

Since their firepower had increased, Kamito concluded that dodging them by paper-thin margins like earlier would not work.

He had no method of handling suicide bombs coming from seven different directions at the same time.

(What can I do? Should I use steel magic to create daggers out of divine power and pierce all seven at the same time?)

No good. The demon spirits were all mid-level or above.

Using spirit magic to create improvised weapons would not be enough to cause damage, probably.

(I have to take a gamble and use Purple Lightning's godlike speed to race against the explosions&mdash;)

Kamito concentrated a great amount of divine power at his feet.

Failure meant getting blown to bits.

"Absolute Blade Arts, First Form&mdash;"

"O black lightning, even capable of incinerating souls to oblivion—Hell Blast!"

&mdash;A second just before Kamito released his divine power...

Raging jet-black lightning pierced the seven large demon spirits.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

Deafening explosions. A terrifying chain reaction took place. Heat from the scorching flames made Kamito's skin hurt.

"...!?"

While shielding his eyes from the flying sparks, Kamito looked up.

Only to see amid the blazing flames that seemed to incinerate the night sky&mdash;

Flapping her jet-black wings, the darkness spirit slowly descended.

"Restia!?"

"Fufu, looks like you are in quite a tough battle, Kamito&mdash;"

The spirit seal on his left hand glowed especially brightly.

Landing on the ground, Restia raised her hand lightly and extinguished the blazing flames.

"Restia, why&mdash;"

"The ruins over there have been destroyed by Claire Rouge."

Restia replied to the surprised Kamito who was inquiring about what had happened.

"Claire is fine, right?"

"I have her some feathers to serve as talismans. She should be able to endure until she converges with her companions."

Restia chuckled.

"You go back to Kamito's side&mdash;That was what she said. What an adorable child."

"Really&mdash;"

Claire's feelings warmed Kamito's heart.

"If you're worried about little miss hell cat, hurry up and defeat that thing."

"Yeah, you're right&mdash;"

Kamito nodded boldly and took Restia's hand immediately.

"Come, ruler of the night. O merciless goddess of darkness&mdash;

Thou art the sword of wisdom, the piercer of truth&mdash;!"

He chanted the words of release for an elemental waffe.

&mdash;The Demon Slayer and the Vorpal Sword.

Wielding the ultimate sacred and demon swords, Kamito faced the Dunamis angel again.

"&mdash;Sorry for making you wait. I am Ren Ashbell, the Strongest Blade Dancer."

The angel's wings of light flashed. That sculpture-like beautiful face still showed no expression&mdash;

But it looked confused, apparently.

"Kamito, analysis of concept barrier is complete&mdash;"

Words of High Ancient appeared on Est's blade.

"&mdash;There is nothing which the ultimate steel cannot cut."

"Well done, Est."

"Yes, Kamito."

An image of Est puffing out her chest with pride appeared in his mind.

"Let's go, you two&mdash;"

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

The two spirit swords replied at the same time.

Despite bickering frequently, the two of them were very in sync when taking action.

The Dunamis raised its great sword. Emitting strange noise, it created bombs out of demon spirits.

"&mdash;Stop thinking you'll win by repeating the same old move!"

Kamito took a deep breath and kicked the ground hard.

While shouting, he aimed at the demon spirits raining down on him.

"O darkness, go and pierce&mdash;Vorpal Blast!"

Using Ren Ashbell's signature move, he annihilated them in one strike.

Between the flames and heat waves, Kamito enveloped himself in divine power and charged in one go.

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

Drawing the Demon Slayer, he released divine power.

Instantly, Kamito closed in on his target, stabbing the silver-white sword into armor that resembled a breastplate.

Runes of light appeared in front of the sword's tip to form a barrier, but&mdash;

At the same time, runes of light likewise appeared on the Demon Slayer and neutralized the generated barrier.

The silver-white blade pierced the breastplate, shattering that marble-like body.

(The attack worked!)

Kamito cheered in his thoughts. Immediately...

Aiming at the angel's massive stumbling body, he unleashed a series of sword moves in continuous succession&mdash;

"Absolute Blade Arts, Third Form&mdash;Shadowmoon Waltz!" "Absolute Blade Arts, Sixth Form&mdash;Crushing Fang!" "Absolute Blade Arts, Fourth Form&mdash;Blaze Slash!" "Absolute Blade Arts, Introductory Form—True Bursting Cherry Blossom Flurry!" "Absolute Blade Arts, Third Form, Alpha Variant&mdash;Shadowmoon Waltz, Major Double Turn!" "Absolute Blade Arts, Seventh Form&mdash;Biting Dragon Double Blossom!"

Every strike of the Absolute Blade Arts, each capable of a one-hit kill, connected&mdash;

The armor covering the angel began to flake off and crumble.

Then&mdash;

"Absolute Blade Arts, Second Form&mdash;Obverse Meteor, Peerless Zetsura!"

A dual-wielding technique using his entire body, he sent the Dunamis' massive body flying.

Crash!

Smashing against the ruins, the angel lost an arm that snapped off tragically.

&lt;&mdash;La&mdash;La...&gt;

The angel seemed unable to comprehend the phenomenon before its eyes.

Expressionlessly, it looked down at its damaged part.

"...What now? First time getting hurt?"

Kamito grinned savagely.

He could feel a violent power that was sleeping inside him gradually awaken.

The divine power's glow covering his entire body had turned black in color.

After he had exhausted his own divine power, Ren Ashdoll's power was starting to surge.

Just then, the angel's massive body slowly stood up.

It swung its sword to point straight up at the sky, rewriting the demon spirits that were flying to and fro.

"...Ha, don't you remember anything at all&mdash;"

Kamito used the Vorpal Sword to summon jet-black demon lightning. However&mdash;

Instead of charging at Kamito, the demon spirits gathered around the injured angel.

"What the...?"

As soon as the strangely shaped cluster of demon spirits touched the angel's armor&mdash;

They were absorbed like melted ice.

The angel's damaged body began to gradually regenerate&mdash;or rather, reconstruct itself.

"...What the heck, are you kidding me?"

Kamito groaned.

"&mdash;It is rewriting the demon spirit's structure to meld with itself."

"Where does it get so many cheating skills from..."

Hearing Est's voice in his mind, Kamito could not help but exclaim in despair.

The angel's entire body was covered by armor resembling a hard shell.

(...Come to think of it, the angel at Laurenfrost also merged with spirits and ice dragons.)

Just then, Kamito recalled that incident.

It was like they had the authority to freely write this world's existence.

That was practically...

"...Damn it. Looks like it's a waste of effort I don't finish it off in one attack."

Kamito shrugged and laughed.

...Confronted with such an absurd being, his only choice was to laugh.

(&mdash;Bursting Blossom Spiral Blade Dance, I guess?)

Kamito regulated his breathing while readying his two swords in a stance.

The most destructive of the Absolute Blade Arts, meant to be used against large spirits.

If even this move failed to work&mdash;

"Then we're dead meat&mdash;"

Kamito muttered to himself sardonically. Just then&mdash;

"&mdash;Decisiveness is a virtue, but there is only a fine line dividing it from recklessness, lad."

A voice spoke to him from across the sea of fire.

"...!?"

Kamito looked back, only to see a petite girl in a gray overcoat appear before him.

Carrying an ominous demon sword with the color of blood, the girl was making her way towards him.

Under the hood, he could catch glimpses of gray eyes, glimmering faintly in the darkness.

"...! You&mdash;"

Speechless, Kamito widened his eyes.

The girl took off her hood, her gray hair instantly fluttering in the wind.

"Greyworth!"

Kamito's shout echoed all around.

Yes, she was none other than&mdash;

The Greyworth who had gone missing after falling down the canyon in Dracunia.

Having regained her youth as well as her peak capabilities, she had become an assassin for the Holy Kingdom&mdash;

"Greyworth, I knew it, you're still alive!"

"Of course. How could the Witch be dead?"

Saying that, the youthful Greyworth grinned.

Seeing that especially nostalgic expression, Kamito understood.

"...You've regained your memory?"

"&mdash;Yes. I remember everything. Everything."

Greyworth nodded and looked towards the angel that kept absorbing demon spirits.

"Twenty-four years ago, I saw it too."

"Twenty-four years ago&mdash;"

It was the year when Greyworth Ciel Mais had won the Blade Dance.

"However, let us leave that story for later. We must end this before it finishes reconstructing itself."

"Yeah, you're right&mdash;"

The Dunamis angel's armor was bulging. Its weight was enough to crush the ground underfoot.

In addition to the demon spirits, it was even starting to absorb the ruins sustaining the gate.

Greyworth drew a blood-colored demon sword&mdash;the elemental waffe Vlad Dracul.

Likewise, Kamito readied his two swords and stood beside her.

Ren Ashbell, the Strongest Blade Dancer, and the Dusk Witch&mdash;

"&mdash;Can you keep up with me, lad?"

"I was gonna ask you the same thing. By the way, didn't I win that blade dance at Dracunia?"

"I had lost my memory then. Doesn't count."

"...You're going with that excuse? Whatever. I'd win no matter how many times we tried again."

"Oh? You've upgraded your mouth, the boy who used to work as a maid in my mansion."

"...Do me a favor and lose your memory again."

The two bickered while amplifying their divine power.

"&mdash;End the battle in one strike. It'll be bad if Ren Ashdoll's power continues to eat away at me."

"My intention all along&mdash;"

Both of them kicked the ground at the same time.

Like a flash of purple lightning, they instantly rushed to to the gigantic Dunamis angel to engage in close quarters combat.

The angel raised four arms and entered a defensive stance.

"&mdash;Can you break them, Greyworth?"

"Hmph, who do you think you're talking to?"

The angel roared. Against the slashing attacks that were like a storm&mdash;

With fluid motions to evade, Greyworth delivered heavy blows aimed at the joints.

"Absolute Blade Dance, Alternate Form&mdash;Ice Storm Rakshasa!"

A vine of ice shot out from the demon sword's blade to entangle the angel's entire body.

This was an Absolute Blade Art unique to the Witch, a combination of spirit magic and sword technique.

The angel's movements stopped.
[[image:STnBD V18 BW10.jpg|thumb]]

&mdash;However, runes of light immediately appeared, taking only an instant to erase the magical ice that rivaled Rinslet's Ice Nein.

"Oh?"

"Instant disintegration of constitutional elements. All magical effects will be neutralized."

Est explained in Kamito's mind.

"Suits me just fine. Let's see how many times you can neutralize!"

Enveloped in demon lightning, the Vorpal Sword smashed the angel's enlarged legs. Greyworth's demon sword deflected a great sword that was approaching Kamito, then spun around to amputate that arm.

Flash after flash of swords tore through the night&mdash;

These movements of swords were almost like a blade dance offered to spirits.

(So this is the Dusk Witch in her prime, huh&mdash;)

Kamito clicked his tongue mentally. He was lucky to have won the duel at Dracunia.

"Absolute Blade Dance, Flash Form&mdash;Death Butterfly Flash Dance!"

Dodging a storm of violent attacks, Greyworth launched a counterattack. Even though the angel tried to deploy a rune barrier, Est erased it.

Two arms were chopped off. An opening appeared in the enemy's secure defense. In that very instant...

There was no need to signal.

As though they had agreed beforehand...

The two of them unleashed the ultimate Absolute Blade Art at the same time.


" "Absolute Blade Arts, Destructive Form&mdash;Bursting Blossom Spiral Blade Dance, Hundred Combination Ashura!" "


Innumerable flashes of the sword criss-crossed and overlapped, turning into a rain of light, flooding the entire space.

It was an ultimate sword technique that originally existed in theory only.

With the Demon King and the Witch performing the strongest Double Absolute Blade Arts together&mdash;

&mdash;The Dunamis angel was pulverized.
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