Chapter 445: Luke Was Forced Back?!
"That's honestly a little terrifying. I suppose that's only to be expected of Her Highness."
Watching from the stands, Kurono could not help voicing her admiration.
She watched the match, chatted with Nene beside her, and occasionally tossed snacks into her mouth.
She certainly looked busy, but there was a reason for it.
If Kurono did not distract herself somehow, she found it very difficult to stop staring at the thoroughly ruined arena.
"Every time their blades cross, Vermillion grows at a frightening rate."
Technique, strength, speed, experience—Everything was improving.
It was like polishing a gemstone, each stroke refining an already beautiful rough stone into something closer to perfection.
Kurono found the sight both astonishing and difficult to believe.
Nene, however, saw it differently.
"Isn't that only natural?"
"That girl… has such a good goal to chase."
Nene understood Stella's current mindset better than anyone because she had once experienced something very similar.
She glanced at her closest friend with a complicated expression and sighed with a mixture of helplessness and regret.
"My goal isn't there anymore."
"…"
Kurono fell silent.
Of course she knew exactly what Nene meant.
Neither Kurono nor Nene would ever forget those days.
Once, they too had fought on the Seven Star Sword Art Festival stage with the same overwhelming passion Luke and Stella displayed now.
If Kurono had not continually pressured Nene back then, someone with Nene's personality would never have settled down enough to train seriously.
She might never have stepped into the realm of a Desperado at all.
It was Nene's desire to surpass Kurono that pushed her beyond herself again and again.
And Nene's rapid growth, in turn, forced Kurono to improve as well.
For Nene, Kurono had once been practically everything in her life.
Unfortunately, Kurono eventually chose to retire.
From the day Kurono retired, Nene's strength never improved again.
Her Desperado realm remained stuck at the threshold.
She lost the motivation to train and even gradually lost her desire to fight.
"Those really were fulfilling days…"
Nene smiled somewhat self-mockingly.
No one understood Stella's current feelings better than she did.
Stella was just like Nene had once been.
No—Perhaps Stella had it even better.
Because at least Stella did not have to worry about losing the person she was chasing.
"For people like us, having something like this is such a wonderful thing."
"Just look at their faces."
Nene stared at the two fighting brutally across the starlight platform.
Despite the blood constantly scattering through the air, both Luke and Stella were smiling with genuine joy.
No one could count how many times their blades had collided anymore.
Dozens?
Hundreds?
Perhaps even thousands of full-power strikes.
And yet the opponent before each of them refused to retreat.
Not even one step!
Faster.
Stronger.
They swung the blades of their souls beyond their own limits.
To defeat Luke, Stella forced herself to evolve again and again.
Had she never met this "enemy," this "opponent," possibilities that might have required years or even decades to blossom were now being released all at once.
And faced with that rapidly evolving Stella, Luke remained equally extraordinary.
From beginning to end, he continued suppressing her.
"But…"
Kurono finally spoke.
Perhaps she simply did not want to continue the topic.
Or perhaps she was trying to persuade Nene to finally let go of her attachment to the past.
"No matter how beautiful a period of time may be, it must eventually come to an end."
"Just like ours did."
Kurono looked at the two fighters with faint reluctance.
Because the conclusion was already beginning to appear.
The battle really was as beautiful as polishing a gemstone.
But what became beautiful was ultimately the gemstone alone.
Once that gemstone had been polished to perfection, only one conclusion remained.
A sorrowful and cruel reality.
And now that conclusion was about to become obvious to everyone watching.
The balance broke.
At the instant Stella crossed a certain threshold—Luke, who could not grow in the same way, was forced backward!
...
Luke retreated!
In this brutal clash where taking even one step back meant falling into an overwhelming disadvantage—Stella forced Luke back!
Without time to think, Luke swung Starfall Sword and blocked Stella's blazing pursuit.
Clang—!
The instant their blades collided—Luke's sword was knocked aside!
It was not because Stella had surpassed Luke in swordsmanship.
Nor had her strength yet grown enough to completely overwhelm technique through brute force.
The problem was Luke himself.
He was running out of mana!
More precisely—He was running out of energy.
Ever since obtaining Sword Sheath of Tranquility, Luke had rarely experienced complete energy exhaustion.
As far as he could remember, it had only happened twice.
The first was during that nightmare incident in the Dungeon world.
After stopping the corrupted spirit clone, Luke had fought all the way back to the surface while escorting the trapped Adventurers.
The second time was his first battle against Edelweiss.
Both cases had involved unexpected situations where Luke had no time to prepare.
And in both, he had also been fighting opponents beyond his level.
Yet now, for the third time, Luke was experiencing that same sensation against someone who had once been beneath him—No.
Someone who had now reached the same realm as him.
His mana and Prana were both nearing exhaustion.
Even his physical stamina had dropped dramatically.
The regenerative power of Dragon Spirit was simply too unreasonable.
By continuously trading injuries, Stella had forcefully dragged Luke into a state of exhaustion.
Across the entire world, even counting every Desperado, there were probably fewer than five people capable of doing that.
And among those few, the only one who could exhaust Luke while still remaining at peak condition herself was likely Stella.
Feeling the force he could no longer resist with one hand, Luke sensed Stella's terrifying strength still continuing to increase.
Even he could not help feeling a trace of bitterness.
Being caught up to in such a short time—And now facing the possibility of being surpassed—Truthfully, it did not feel pleasant at all.
But for Luke, even that faint bitterness would become fuel driving him forward.
More importantly—This seemingly hopeless situation had actually been within his expectations from the beginning!
Stella's explosive growth over these few minutes would become the force Luke needed—To knock open the door to his next realm!
…
…
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