Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter8
Status: Incomplete
The strongest blade dancer
Part 1
Academy Town was a small-scale town within the premises of the Areishia Spirit Academy.
The townscape, lined with stone buildings, was filled with the tumult of people.
While bumping many times over into coming-and-going crowds of people, Kamito was running towards the arena.
—If that was him thinking it too much, it was alright. However, he was feeling strangely uneasy.
(…Absurd. With the loss of her contracted spirit, the blade dance is just...)
While he was out of breath, he ran at full speed, pulling Est’s hand.
He did not understand why he was in such a frantic for her sake.
Claire Rogue was a – tyrant, who was prideful, willful and quick to lash her whip.
However, he somehow could not leave her alone.
(After all, her true self is—)
Kamito stopped at that moment.
“—Here, right?”
Before the arena built at the center of the town, there was a crowd of spectators gathered.
The blade dance was originally a holy ritual to let spirits enjoy themselves – a kind of Kagura.
However, there was no change to the fact that that was also the highest form of entertainment to humans.
Also, the same as other festivals, the spirits preferred a great number of enthusiastic people.
He showed his academy student badge to the guard and entered inside, and pushed aside clamoring spectators to get to the front.
There were ear-splitting cheers. The sounds of shrills of weapons. The intense blade dance had already started at the arena.
There were about 20 participants. Various types of spirits were jumbled together and fighting.
It was a battle royal system where the last one remaining would earn the right to contract with a powerful military-use spirit.
Kamito searched for Claire—
“…!?”
For that unbelievable sight, he doubted his eyes.
That Claire Rogue was—
Covered all over with wounds and crawling.
Against the contracted spirits boasting tremendous power, Claire was fighting with just a whip and spirit magic.
While her whole body was hit and slammed into a wall, she stood up and fought again and again.
“Claire—“
He could not go help her. If Kamito got in and helped her, she would be naturally disqualified.
If he did that, she would probably never forgive him.
Kamito bit his teeth and in front of him, Claire was blown away.
Part 2
—Weak. Why am I even so weak?
While being thrown to the ground, Claire strongly bit her lips. The taste of blood spread across her tongue. It seemed that she was cut somewhere inside her mouth. She planned to stand up but her hands went numb and did not move. It seemed to have caused a cerebral concussion. Even several bones of her ribs might be suffering damage.
“Guu…!”
Even so, she still did not raise the surrender card.
She slowly stood up on her shaky legs.
She sternly looked up. At the center of the altar was a worshiped stone pillar. Within that, there was a rank-A battle-class military-use spirit– 'Glasya-Labolas' sealed inside, brought in from the imperial capital.
Having brought down many spirit knights in the past wars, it was a famous giant-man spirit.
(…If I obtain that, I can be strong.)
—Nee-sama surely can be saved!
“Flame – dance in my hand, dance!”
She turned the divine power dwelling within herself into flames and produced a fireball of spirit magic in her palm.
In her situation where there was no supply of divine power from Scarlet (contracted spirit), even for Claire, who was superior, to produce out such a small flame took all her might. Naturally, such a thing could not bring down spirits.
However, if she aimed for the spirit contractors, possibly – there might be a tinge chance of winning.
“Huh? Do you still plan on doing this? You don’t learn, do you”
—She heard a scorning voice from her front.
“…!”
She bit her teeth and lifted her head. The two spirit contractors were standing with ridiculing expressions.
They were the Academy’s upper classmen. They were respectively using 'adamantine spirit' and 'magic mirror spirit'.
“Hey, are you truly not an idiot? You don’t even have a contracted spirit.”
“That very part of you is irritating, you know.”
“…You!”
Aiming at the two upper classmen ridiculing her, Claire released the fireball.
However, the fireball was stopped by the ore-looking adamantine spirit and easily repelled.
“Ahahaa, what’s that, spirit magic? – Do it, 'Adamantine'!”
The girl on the other side cruelly curved her lips and gave an order to her contracted spirit.
The adamantine spirit emitted a blue radiance and rushed and struck Claire’s abdomen.
“Agg…!”
A mumbling scream escaped from Claire’s mouth.
She did not dare aim her vital points. She was slowly tormenting her and enjoying herself.
This was not a splendor blade dance for spirits to enjoy themselves. It was merely unsightly violence.
“…How cheeky, you. Despite being that Calamity Queen’s younger sister.”
The upper classman’s face was really distorted in hatred. While being hit many times over her whole body, — finally, Claire recalled. These two were colleagues, who were one-sidedly knocked down by Claire at a practice match a month ago. They were resenting about that time.
“What’s with that look? If you don’t give up quickly, you’ll really die!”
“It’s alright if you quickly kneel down and lick our shoes, and yet. Truly, that foolishness is the same as your sister.”
“…Shut…up, be silent.”
Claire tightly grasped the sand scattered on the ground.
“Hn, did you say something?”
“I said… be silent.”
It was no good. She could not restrain it.
(Only abuses at Nee-sama, no matter what, my boiling point for that is low!)
She put divine power into her left hand, which was grasping sand. A black spirit crest re-engraved and ominously glowed.
And then the moment the path was connected, a horrifying sensation ran all over her body.
She would not be defeated at such a place. There was no value in her weak self.
(To grasp a more powerful power in my hand –!)
“What… a contracted spirit!?”
The upperclassmen’s eyes opened in surprise.
“If you wish for it, I’ll show you. This is – my true power!”
Gou!
The black flame, released from Claire’s hand, gulped down the adamantine spirit in an instant.
Appeared from within the blazing flame was—
A flickering jet black magic beast.
It was not a noble flame like Scarlet. It was a flame of darkness, showing signs of madness.
Guo…ruuuuuu…
The beast’s hair-raising roar shook the entire atmosphere in the arena.
Part 3
“…What’s that!?”
Kamito got up from the audience seatings and shouted.
The black flame spirit, Claire brought forth, engulfed the adamantine spirit in front of it in an instant.
—It was not Scarlet.
Its appearance was similar to that hell cat but the presence of that divine power was overly ominous.
The jet-black flame spirit bit and crushed the magic mirror spirit at the other side and was devouring those remains like a starving beast. That was not all. The spirits around the black spirit suddenly writhed as if going mad and began eating each other’s existence.
“The frenzy is spreading…!”
Kamito recalled about the magic spirit that appeared in Astral Zero last night.
And about the water spirit that went out of control in the bathroom.
The spirits, in a frenzy, lost their reasoning and were unable to restrain their powers. Until their own existence extinguished, they would conduct themselves as with their impulses for destruction.
However, that black magic beast –
(It’s forcefully snatching away Clare’s divine power!?)
Claire stood rock still at the center of the arena with an exhausted expression.
From the black spirit crest engraved on her left hand, blood was trickling down.
Her face was pale and her whole body was quivering bit by bit. It looked like she was also barely standing.
If the situation was left as it was, she might lose her life.
The spectators, who realized that something was strange with the appearance of the spirits, suddenly began a commotion.
The spirit contractor girls, in the arena, were also perplexed at their contracted spirits that suddenly did not listen to their commands.
“Damn, what are the guys in Knights doing?”
Kamito looked around the inside of the arena. Despite being an obvious strange situation, the spirit knights that should have been prepared for unexpected situations were not moving. What was going on?
However, the spirit knights standing at the arena gate were all rooted at the same spot, staring into empty space. The eyes were not focused. It was as if they were entranced –
“…What? What the heck is happening?”
“That’s a crazy spirit, Kamito.”
Est, who was beside him, muttered expressionlessly.
“A crazy spirit?”
“It is a possession-type spirit that bestows berserk-ness to spirits. It isn’t such a high status spirit but the spirit possessed loses its reasoning and, until its own existence vanishes, it will continue to fight.”
“Possess – don’t tell me, that black magic beast is 'Scarlet'!?”
“Affirmative. That hell cat is a very powerful spirit, it should not vanish from the extent of being beaten by the magic spirit. It seems that it temporary lost the ability to manifest but–“
“Is that so…”
The fire remains of the flame spirit remained. However, Claire continuously thought that Scarlet vanished, so she was not able to connect the path.
“—But, in that frenzied condition, vanishing completely is also just a matter of time.”
“Ah, I understand.”
Kamito nodded.
'Scarlet' – a flame spirit with the appearance of a hell cat cladded in noble flames.
That was the very flame of a girl named Claire.
That flame turned into a crazy disgusting magic beast and was indulging and eating the spirits.
Something like that could not be her –Claire’s desired flame.
“—Est. I ask of you, lend me your strength.”
“I am Kamito’s sword. I’ll do as you desire.”
Est gently grasped Kamito’s hand. There was a feeling of a hand, cold but surprisingly soft.
“The cool-headed steel queen, the sacred sword that destroys evil – here and now, become my sword!”
Kamito spun the releasing of the elemental waffe; at the same time, Est’s body turned into particles of light and vanished.
In the next moment, a silver glowing single edged sword appeared in Kamito’s hand.
The spirit language inscription, carved on the edge, was – 'Terminus Est '.
Just by lightly holding it, he understood that it was tremendously famous sword.
“I’m sorry. The path to my true form is closed, so this is the limit for me currently.”
Est, who turned into the form of a sword, said apologetically.
“No, this is plenty. – Let’s go, Est!”
Kamito prepared Terminus Est and jumped into the arena where the raging black flame was.
The moment he landed onto the ground, the magic beast of darkness bared its fangs and prounced to attack him.
He brandished the sword in a turning manner. He knocked away the black flame, and rushed over to Claire’s side.
“Claire!”
“…Kamito”
Claire opened her ruby-colored eyes.
Her knees were on the ground and she was breathing heavily. Her delicate body was going to collapse at any time.
The blood, trickling from the spirit crest on her left hand, was dying the sand scattered on the ground red.
At that moment, the black flame magic beast mowed onto the ground, like it was making fun of it, with its claws.
There was the scent of burning in the air. The hot wind with pebbles mixed in gently brushed Kamito’s cheeks.
“…!?”
In a hair’s breadth, Kamito dodged the black flame’s claws. He drove in a slash at the black flame spirit that was just knocked down.
The silver sword flash drew an arc. The elemental waffe of the sword spirit cut up even the intangible flames –
| Back to Chapter 7 | Return to Main Page | Forward to Epilogue |