In the story, Hayato and Iwatsuki are set to clash in the second round.
However, that is only if both of them manage to make it past the first round. A story always follows a predetermined path, but even a single drop of something different can alter its course.
At the end of the dimly lit hallway, light spilled through. Faint cheers echoed from beyond.
A sudden wave of nerves washed over Aoi. He pressed his clenched fist against his chest and took a deep breath. It had been a long time since he had felt this way—perhaps not since last year’s CJC.
「Sazanami-kun, go on ahead. Do your best.」
A teacher standing by the entrance spoke to him. Aoi nodded in response. Squinting slightly, he stepped into the light.
A vast, ochre-colored ground stretched before him, encircled by terraced spectator stands.
This was the largest arena within Seisetsu Academy. Naturally, a stage of this size had been assigned to a match involving a past CJC semifinalist.
The crowd was substantial. Most of them were likely here for Iwatsuki. Some matches failed to draw much attention, but when well-known fighters like Kotone or Iwatsuki stepped into the ring, spectators gathered in droves.
By the way, Aoi had once reached the CJC quarterfinals, but no one talked about that. The reason was simple—last year, a certain Saotome Raul, an infamously ruthless pretty boy, had completely stolen the spotlight with his overwhelming strength.
On the opposite side of the field, Iwatsuki stood tall, not even sparing a glance at the three opponents before him. Instead, he was glaring at Hayato and the others in the audience, as if challenging them with his presence alone.
Scanning the stands, Aoi spotted Akari, who waved at him with a small cheer. He called out his thanks while raising his hand energetically. She gave a satisfied nod in return.
Further searching the crowd, he locked eyes with Rui. Flashing a bright smile, he waved at her as well. She immediately turned her gaze away with a huff. That stung.
Setting that aside, his other opponents consisted of a girl from Class A and a boy from Class B.
It was a solid lineup.
However, neither of them seemed particularly experienced in battle. Whether they could stand up to Iwatsuki was another matter entirely.
『Now then, we will begin the eighth match of Block A. All participants, please activate your Radiant Divine Arms.』
The cheers grew louder. Aoi glanced at the watch-shaped activation device wrapped around his left wrist.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a key-shaped artifact—his Radiant Divine Arms, the gateway to the unknown.
The jagged, blue-hued relic gleamed in his grasp.
With a hushed breath, he recited an invocation.
The air, already tense with anticipation, seemed to grow even sharper.
「……Resonate.」
The key trembled slightly.
A faint blue light flickered to life, and an instant later, a woman’s electronic voice rang out from within.
《Flame, Caution》
Aoi inserted the supernatural key into the small, hollowed-out slot of the activation device.
With a firm twist, a crisp clicking sound echoed, and in the next instant, an intense heat surged through his body as if boiling his very blood.
The woman’s voice calmly announced the summoning of power.
《Access》
At that moment, flames engulfed Aoi’s body—literally.
Blazing heat surged around him, yet it did not bring pain, only power.
A declaration of humanity’s counterattack, built upon countless sacrifices in the face of monstrous threats.
A force capable of shattering iron, soaring through the skies, and bending nature itself—the pinnacle of human might.
《Welcome to Fiona Server》
It bloomed into existence.
The flames consuming Aoi vanished, revealing beneath them a combat suit woven in shades of blue and black.
His senses sharpened as exhilaration surged through him. With a mere swing of his arm, waves of hot air rippled outward. A scrape of his foot against the ground sent blue sparks scattering.
An overwhelming power, the kind he had only ever seen in anime or novels.
The sensation of something constricting his body—proof that he had surpassed human limits—was intoxicating. It was so dangerously seductive, so beautifully boundless, that he felt as if he might lose himself in it.
「Resonate!!」
《Crush, Caution》
Across the field, Iwatsuki’s voice rang out, bold and commanding.
A force beyond human comprehension. Even among those who had reached the peak, this was a power that stood at the cutting edge—an aberration among aberrations.
A power so great that a single misstep could lead to self-destruction.
《Access》
The ground trembled. The other two participants, the boy and girl, wavered slightly on their feet.
Enormous boulders materialized around Iwatsuki.
They all surged toward him, pressing inward until his entire form was swallowed by the mass of stone.
《Welcome to Fiona Server》
The woman’s voice echoed once more, and with it, the boulders exploded outward.
Shards of rock scattered in every direction. Aoi tilted his head just as a fist-sized chunk of stone whizzed past where his face had been a moment before.
At the heart of the blast zone stood Iwatsuki.
Clad in golden armor, his face brimming with confidence.
He took a single step forward, and the ground beneath him trembled, as if crying out under his weight.
The remaining two contestants activated their own variant Radiant Divine Arms as well.
Though Radiant Divine Arms could also manifest weapons, this was only an exhibition match. Both fighters wielded imitation blades—replicas meant for training.
This was a place where talent gathered. It seemed Aoi was the only outlier.
『Now then—』
A teacher’s voice echoed from somewhere, amplified by a microphone.
For a brief moment, the crowd fell silent.
Then, after a single breath’s pause, the teacher’s voice rang out, bold and resolute.
『Begin!!』
The arena erupted in an earth-shattering roar of excitement.
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