Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter8

The strongest blade dancer

Part 1

Academy Town was a small-scale town created 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 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 were 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.

Kamtio searched for Claire—

“…!?”

To 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 classman. 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 classman 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 bent 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.

There was not the 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 quickly give up, 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 grasping sand scattered on the ground.

“Hn, did you say something?”

“I said… be silent.”

It was no good. She could not restrain it.

(Just to abuses against Nee-sama, no matter what, my boiling point is low is how I am!)

She put divine power into her left hand grasping sand. A black spirit crest re-engraved and ominously glowed.

And then the moment the path was connected, a horrify sensation ran all over her body.

She would not be defeated at such a place. There was value in her weak self.

(To grasp 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 arena atmosphere.

Part 3

“…What’s that!?”

Kamito got up from the audience seating and shouted.