Abnormal Type-Moon

Standing opposite the rose-haired princess was another girl.

She had long, silver hair flowing down to her waist, tied into twin bunches behind her head. Her uniform differed slightly from the rose-haired girl's, but was clearly of the same academy's design—albeit from the middle school division. Judging by her youthful appearance, she could be no older than thirteen or fourteen.

And yet, despite her young age, her beauty was no less radiant than that of the princess. With wide, glistening eyes and a body so well-developed her uniform could barely contain it, she was the very embodiment of the "loli with mature figure (oppai loli?)" archetype—a charming contradiction of innocence and allure.

Unlike her opponent, her weapon was not a luminous light-blade, but a true blade—gleaming coldly with an unforgiving steel sheen.

And despite wielding a physical sword, the silver-haired girl exuded a pressure far more terrifying than the princess—an aura as sharp as her blade, overwhelming to all who faced her. Her expression was devoid of fear—she was a sword, a perfectly-honed will to cut.

Across from her, the princess's face was strained—like someone forcing herself to stand against a formidable opponent.

Roy nodded subtly to himself.

If these two were to fight seriously, he'd put his money on the silver-haired one.

Even without a light-based weapon, the sheer presence she radiated was already eclipsing the rose-haired royal. And while presence alone doesn't decide a battle, being crushed in spirit often means one's strength is never truly brought to bear.

"She's strong too, huh?"

Roy asked the boy still filming beside him.

"Strong? That doesn't even begin to cover it—wait, it's starting!"

The boy had been about to launch into an explanation, but shut up immediately when he saw movement in the arena, quickly focusing on recording the moment.

Roy did the same, fixing his gaze on the battlefield.

In the dueling grounds—

"I'm sorry… but I have a reason I must win."

The silver-haired girl's voice was soft, almost guilty, but her eyes held unwavering resolve.

"No need to apologize. This is my decision!"

The princess—Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld—stood tall, voice resolute despite her grim expression. Her hand moved to the circular badge pinned over her chest.

It was engraved with the image of a crimson lotus—proof of her unbending will.

At the same time, she declared loudly:

"Under the crimson lotus, sigil of the unyielding, I—Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld—challenge you, Kirin Toudou, to a formal duel!"

As if resonating with her call, the badge on her chest flashed red, and a beam of light shot forth—straight toward the silver-haired girl.

Her name was indeed Kirin Toudou. She wore a badge identical to Julis's. The red beam struck her own emblem, which absorbed it with a glow.

"I, Kirin Toudou, accept the duel request of Julis-senpai!"

Kirin placed her hand over her badge. In response to her calm words, her own crimson lotus flared with radiant light.

In that instant, the duel was sealed.

"I'm coming!"

Without a moment's pause, Kirin dashed forward—her speed explosive.

But Julis had anticipated this. She had been on full guard the moment the duel began, and even before Kirin closed the distance, she launched her own counterattack.

"Bloom—Primrose!"

Like a maestro leading an orchestra, Julis swung her rapier in a wide, sweeping arc.

With a sharp cry, nine fireballs flared into existence in an arc before her, blooming like spring flowers—and immediately streaked toward Kirin on separate, erratic paths.

Though each orb was only the size of a fist, their heat was ferocious and their speed deadly. A single one could inflict lethal damage if it struck an ordinary person.

But Kirin Toudou did not falter.

With a calm sweep of her sword, she extinguished the three fireballs coming straight for her, slicing them apart with near-perfect precision.

Seeing her attacks thwarted without pause, Julis clenched her teeth and redirected the remaining six orbs to assault Kirin from both flanks.

Yet Kirin didn't even blink. She twisted her foot mid-run, spinning like a dancer, and with a single sweeping slash—like a top set in motion—she neutralized all six fireballs in a blur.

Her sword was fast—so fast it defied the eye. The shockwaves from her slashes alone were enough to snuff out the flames.

But Julis had never intended for the fireballs to land. Their true purpose was to break Kirin's momentum—to halt her charge.

In the moment Kirin slowed to dispatch the flames, Julis leapt back several paces.

"Bloom—Longiflorum!"

While retreating, Julis swung her sword again.

A massive spear of blue-white fire formed along the sword's arc, streaking forward like a rocket—its shape blooming outward like a trumpet lily as it howled toward Kirin.

The spear's size dwarfed the silver-haired girl—at least twice her height. Its destructive power wasn't just lethal—it was devastating. Even for "Genestellar" generations like them, taking a hit from that could mean severe injury, if not worse.

But Kirin remained unmoved.

With a single pivot, she turned her blade vertically and struck the oncoming spear at its shaft. Sparks exploded in every direction as fire met steel—but in that fleeting instant, Kirin knocked the flame lance aside purely through brute strength.

The titanic blaze was sent flying, crashing into the ground behind her.

It had only stopped her for a moment. Kirin, pressing the advantage, darted forward—reaching the very spot where Julis had been standing.

"Now—Open—Gloriosa!"

Julis's eyes narrowed sharply as she saw the attack approach. With a decisive swing of her rapier, she carved a commanding arc through the air.

In that very instant, a glowing circular sigil—reminiscent of a magical array—erupted beneath Kirin Toudou's feet. From its edges, five colossal flame pillars shot up like the claws of a mythic beast, trapping Kirin in a blazing cage.

"Oh-ho! That's a new trump card!" the boy filming nearby shouted with gleeful excitement. "Looks like a trap-type ability! This'll be gold in the rankings reports—today's trip was totally worth it!"

A trap-type ability—one where the user preemptively implants control elements in the field.

Roy nodded to himself in thought. To establish a zone-type trap with such precision in just the opening seconds of a duel… this princess has remarkable combat instincts.

But... was that really enough to end it?

Roy remained unconvinced. If her opponent were so easily subdued, Julis wouldn't have worn that look of tension from the start.

And sure enough, the princess's own expression showed no signs of easing up. Her entire body was still taut with caution—as if, at any moment, the trap could be broken.

And it was.

With a searing flash, the foremost flame pillar shattered—cleaved cleanly by a single strike.

From within, a silver streak burst forth, cutting through the blazing prison with speed even faster than before—an afterimage of white light.

Kirin Toudou had escaped—and now she was closing in.

Julis didn't flinch. Her reaction was smooth—no surprise in her eyes, as if she had expected this outcome.

With solemn poise, she traced her rapier through the air again, this time forming a complex, glyph-like path. Like the incantation of a high thaumaturgy, the sigil she drew pulsed and surged—emitting waves of searing heat.

From the magical array burst forth the roaring visage of a dragon—its jaws wide, its scream unrelenting, as if it were tearing itself free from centuries of imprisonment.

"Bloom—Antirrhinum Majus!"

"It's a finisher! That's gotta be a finisher!" the boy at the sidelines looked ready to pass out from the intensity.

Roy, however, suddenly perked up.

"…Interference?"

The arena crowd roared with excitement, their eyes glued to the fierce battle. Amid their frenzy, few noticed anything else.

But Roy—his ears trained by countless battlefields—picked up on a subtle anomaly.

A low-pitched hum.

The faint, metallic whir of something activating—unmistakably similar to the ignition of a Lux weapon.

There's another source. Outside the ring.

Roy's eyes darted from the duel to the gathered spectators. Quietly, he slipped through the crowd.

Then—

Swish!

A razor-thin sound sliced through the air, too faint for ordinary ears—like a bee's wings buzzing through shadow.

It wouldn't register to anyone…

Except the one being targeted.

On the field—

Julis had just unleashed her ultimate technique. The dragon head was surging forward when—

A glint of golden light sliced across her peripheral vision.

In that fraction of a second, her body instinctively froze. Her movements faltered.

The glyph her rapier had etched began to destabilize—just like a disrupted digital projection, the dragon's form spasmed and twitched violently.

It was a light arrow.

And it had been fired directly at her.

Not only that—it had been loosed at the exact moment she was locked in close combat with Kirin, while casting her most vulnerable technique.

There was no time to react. She was wide open—

Pah!

In the blink of an eye, a white object streaked across the sky.

A long, pale rod—thrown from somewhere in the crowd—intercepted the light arrow's path perfectly. The projectile pierced straight through it, but its momentum broke. Both arrow and rod clattered harmlessly to the ground.

***

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