Chapter 449: The Final Strike!
'I can't win!'
'There's absolutely no way!'
'I have no chance of winning right now!'
Luke looked as though he could collapse at any moment, yet Stella remained every bit as wary of him as she would have been at his peak.
No.
This could no longer be called simple caution.
Her body trembled uncontrollably, her heart pounded violently, and her breathing suddenly became heavier.
Nervousness—
Or rather… fear!
Yet at the same time, an incomparable surge of excitement flooded through her.
'He's so strong!'
'Luke really is unbelievably strong!'
'But… that's exactly why…'
'I don't want to lose…'
'I absolutely refuse to lose!!!'
Stella looked at the powerful figure standing before her and smiled.
'I want to stand beside him…'
'I want to become someone like him…'
And therefore—
'I absolutely cannot lose here!!!'
"ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAR—!!!"
The dragon roared toward the heavens!
Her emotions, pushed to their absolute limit, triggered yet another evolution!
Through that roar, Stella conveyed a single message to the man before her.
'I haven't lost yet!'
A visible change appeared across Stella's body.
The glowing mark upon her chest that symbolized Dragon Spirit suddenly began pulsing in rhythm with her heartbeat.
Bright.
Dim.
Bright.
Then, in the next instant—Its radiance intensified!
The light gradually became dazzling enough to hurt the eyes.
It was almost as though Stella herself had transformed into pure "light" shaped in the silhouette of a girl.
Along with it came unimaginable heat.
Power far beyond anything she had displayed before erupted outward.
Even the incredibly solid starlight platform beneath their feet began showing signs of melting.
It was broad daylight.
Yet sunlight itself seemed to lose all meaning.
Because Stella's radiance illuminated everything like another sun.
At that moment, everyone felt the world itself begin to change.
It was as though everything around Stella was faintly being pulled toward her.
This was no illusion.
The immense amount of thermal energy she radiated had begun interfering with the stability of the surrounding space itself.
At this moment—Stella Vermillion had crossed beyond the limits of mortals.
She had truly entered a transcendent realm!
She was a blazing star formed from crimson flames.
A manifestation of the might belonging to the mythical dragon!
Unreasonable.
That was the only word left in everyone's minds as they witnessed Stella's power.
Luke had surpassed his limits and placed himself on the brink of death merely to touch the edge of the Desperado realm.
He had overturned common sense and shattered accepted truth.
Just when everyone believed his victory had become unshakable—Stella erased that gap in the very next instant.
Seeing Luke evolve, Stella evolved again as well.
To chase him.
To surpass him.
And she did it with such absurd ease that it almost felt unacceptable.
At this point, even ordinary people with no power whatsoever finally understood.
This girl had existed outside common sense from the very moment she was born.
A natural-born Desperado!
That was the Crimson Princess—Stella Vermillion!
Seeing this, Luke finally understood why the Main God Space had only required him to place within the top three of the Seven Star Sword Art Festival.
This was a B-rank mission.
If his opponents had only been people around Touka, Amane, or Ouma's level, that difficulty would have made sense.
But the current Stella had unquestionably exceeded the limits of an ordinary B-rank mission.
Truthfully, if Luke had not encountered Edelweiss and undergone that qualitative leap in strength, his journey might genuinely have ended here.
No one could have predicted that in only a single year, Stella would grow into something this terrifying.
"Luke."
Stella raised Laevateinn and assumed her stance.
Calling it Laevateinn was almost misleading now.
Its original appearance as a golden two-handed greatsword could no longer be seen.
Its size and outline remained unchanged, but blinding radiance covered the entire weapon.
There was no better description for it than an enormous greatsword of light.
"The next strike will probably decide everything between us."
Stella looked directly at Luke.
Just as she said, the next clash would undoubtedly be their last.
Luke had broken beyond his previous limit.
But the injuries he had suffered were still completely real.
His mana had recovered somewhat, but nowhere near enough to support another prolonged battle.
If Luke could not defeat Stella with the next attack—Then once his remaining strength ran dry, Dragon Spirit would inevitably carry Stella to victory.
So she declared to him,
"Against you, I won't—and I don't dare—hold anything back."
"If I do, I'm the one who will lose."
"So for this next attack…"
"I want you to stop holding back too."
"If I die by your hand, I won't regret it!"
An unwavering determination shone within Stella's eyes.
After everything they had experienced in this battle, she no longer wanted the tournament rules to restrain Luke.
The Stella who had grown through this match wanted to truly stand on the same stage as him.
Even if the price was dying by his sword!
"Tch…"
Luke rubbed his forehead.
He summoned Starfall Sword once again and positioned it behind his back.
Ser-Veresta was returned to its sheath.
The stance he assumed—Was the opening posture of Dual-Life-Sword.
"Hey, Stella."
"You can save that kind of talk like you actually have a good chance of winning until after you've beaten me at least once."
Luke's current state was actually rather strange.
He had touched the gate of the Desperado realm.
Although he had not truly entered it, he had genuinely come into contact with the power of fate.
He could not yet pluck the strings of fate.
But he could perceive them.
He had not truly become transcendent.
Yet he had already experienced power beyond humanity.
Thanks to that strange state, Luke gained an entirely new understanding of Dual-Life-Sword.
A peculiar force filled his eyes.
It was almost as though, through the power of fate, he could see through both the past and the future.
"I'm extremely satisfied with today's battle."
"But…"
"It's about time we ended this!"
As Luke's final words fell, silence once again descended over the venue.
The battle between Luke and Stella—Was about to reach its final moment!
...
Falling Star Sword Emperor
VS
Crimson Princess.
Their final clash.
The first to move—Was Stella!
She abandoned the Katharterio Salamandra's overwhelming advantage in range and destructive coverage.
Instead, she chose to settle everything in close combat!
The reason was simple.
Luke's current condition was different from before.
This time, he was free to evade.
Against anyone else, Katharterio Salamandra would be impossibly fast and nearly unavoidable.
But Luke could dodge it with ease.
Their mock battle at the beginning of the school year had already proven that.
Stella had no intention of repeating the same mistake.
She pushed off the ground.
Boom—!
With a tremendous explosion, Stella charged directly toward Luke—Carrying a terrifying momentum capable of overwhelming everything before her!
…
…
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