Man is infinite, and his ambition is to slay the dragon

"Ok?"

"After all, Sarah made it impossible for Ikki to continue fighting, and you have an important agreement with Ikki, so you must have come here to help Ikki get revenge, right? Me too!" Shinomiya Tianyin said with a smile, "Have you killed Sarah? Can I see her final miserable appearance?"

What is this guy talking about?

For a moment, Sieg was unable to understand what Shinomiya Tianyin meant, but he still said, "I didn't kill her. I just told her what Arisuin told me. Arisuin, I accept what you said last night. I have sent Sarah to an absolutely safe place."

"Really? Thank you, Sieg-san." Arisuin Nagi heaved a sigh of relief, "With your protection, I'll be assured of Sarah's safety—"

"Wait, wait, wait."

Shinomiya Tianyin suddenly interrupted Arisuin Nagi's words.

Looking at Sieg and Arisuin Nagi with a somewhat gloomy expression, Shinomiya Tianyin's voice became slightly gloomy: "Protect...what does it mean?"

"Sieg, have you protected Sarah? She's making it impossible for Ikki to continue fighting. We should kill her, right? Sieg, what are you doing?"

"...I don't quite understand what you mean."

Sieg tilted his head: "Kurotetsu can't continue fighting? Isn't he lying in the hospital now?"

"But the agreement between you two—"

"He and I still have a promise for next year. We can complete the promise we didn't make this year next year." Sieg said, "I don't know what you think of the promise between Kurotsuchi and me, but if you want to interfere, I will just kick you away."

Ignoring Shinomiya Amane's expression, Sieg walked past him and said, "I only have one match left tomorrow, and I will forfeit the final. Your Prime Minister's dream is only one step away from coming true, so don't do anything unnecessary before then."

113. Next time you fight me, don’t lose to anyone else.

In a hospital not far from the Bayside Dome.

Inside Kurogane Ikki's ward.

After regaining consciousness from his unconscious state, Kurogane Ikki opened his eyes and saw the unfamiliar ceiling of the hospital, and -

"Why is everyone here?"

The relatives and friends of Pojun Academy, led by Dongtang Daohua, are now all gathered around his bed.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw him wake up.

"You are awake!"

Stella patted her chest and said, "If you don't wake up, Shushizuku will kill you. She has done many tests herself, and the doctor said that you just exhausted yourself and passed out."

"Tamashizuku..."

Kurogane Ikki looked at Kurogane Shizuku, who was sitting beside his bed and tightly clenching his right hand. A hint of apology appeared on his face: "I'm sorry, Shizuku, for making you worry."

"No, I hope you can wake up, brother." Kurogane Jushizuku shook her head in a pretentious manner that anyone could see. "Well, since brother has woken up, I will teach you what to do next, Senior Sieg."

Sieg.

Hearing this name, Ikki Kurogane's heart suddenly tightened, and as the people standing around him dispersed, he saw Sieg standing not far away.

"Sieg-san...you're here too."

"Ah."

Zieg came to the bedside and said, "You can really sleep well. You slept from seven in the evening to ten in the morning."

"After all, my body is really tired."

"I think so too."

Zieg sat down beside the bed, and the others left the ward tacitly, leaving the space for the two of them.

After watching Kurogane Jushizuku, who was the last to leave, close the door of the ward, Kurogane Ikki spoke: "I'm sorry, Sieg-san. I lost. I can't fulfill the promise we made last year."

"Yeah, who told you to act so cool last year? If you had participated last year, you would have had a great chance of winning, but this year's tournament happened to be so eventful that you lost in the quarterfinals."

"Uh...you really are merciless."

"Why, do you think I'm here to comfort you?" Sieg said with a smile, "I don't think you need my comfort. Anyway, you are used to this level of blow, right? When you recover, you will definitely start practicing on your own - we are all first-year students, and we can still participate in two conferences."

"So, if you can't fulfill the promises you made this year, you can just fulfill them next year."

Next year?

Looking at Sieg's calm expression, Kurogane Ikki, who had regained a lot of strength, clenched the quilt slightly with his hands: "Sorry... Sieg-san..."

"Black Iron..."

“Sorry…sorry…”

He lowered his head a lot, and Kurogane Ikki's body trembled slightly: "I failed... to keep our promise..."

"If you dare to cry, I will throw you off the building immediately." Zigg slapped his head hard, "You have survived so many failures, but this failure makes you so upset that you want to cry?"

"I told you, we still have two more years to our own."

"I will be waiting to fight you who will be even stronger next year, and I will be waiting to fight you who will be even stronger the year after. What you have to do is to do your best to become stronger in the next two years so as not to lose to anyone except me."

(Mr. Zieger...)

With slightly red eyes, Ikki Kurogane looked at Sieg who was looking at him calmly, bit his lip, and then nodded heavily.

"I will never break this agreement again."

"Before the next time I fight you, I will never lose to anyone again - never!"

"That's right." Zigg smiled, "Well, you should have a good rest from now on. I should also prepare for the next game."

Ziggy's next game?

Kurogane Ikki also reacted: "Oh, it's already the second day. I remember that your opponent today is -"

"Yes, it's that princess."

"Stella is very strong. She has made great progress since she started training with Xijing teacher. I think she is the strongest person in this tournament besides you." Kurogane Ichijo said, "In the previous three rounds, I can see that she didn't use her full strength at all."

"I'm the same on this point, Kurotsuchi."

The corner of Sieg's mouth raised: "Do you think I have used my full strength? Or... do you think I have used my full strength so far?"

The answer is of course no.

If you want to say it was a serious fight, there were indeed several times, but if you want to say it was a fight to the death where one risked their lives, there was really not even one.

Because there is no opponent who can allow him to do that.

Edwards was one of them, but there was no need for the two of them to fight to that extent. As for the upcoming semi-finals, Zigg had a hunch that he might really kill Stella in this game.

But even so, Zieg would not show mercy to her.

This was to verify whether she had completely surpassed herself, and also to confirm the power she now possessed.

"I'll cheer you on, Sieg-san."

Kurogane Ikki smiled and said, "I am looking forward to you becoming the Seven-Star Sword King. This will give me more motivation to catch up with you."

(Seven-Star Sword King?)

The smile on Sieg's face froze for a moment: "Well... I think you should not chase me as if I were the Seven-Star Sword King. After all, I may not necessarily become the Seven-Star Sword King yet."

"Eh?"

"I'm just kidding. I'm leaving now. If you want to watch the semi-finals, come and watch it, but don't force yourself. You're not in good health right now."

After saying that, Sieg pushed Kurogane Ikki back onto the bed, then turned around and walked out of the ward.

Outside the ward——

"..."

The moment he walked out, looking at the whole row of Pojun Academy friends and relatives leaning against the door, Zigg tilted his head and said, "What are you doing standing here? Eavesdropping?"

"Nothing, just to make sure my brother is safe."

Kurogane Jushizuku explained, "Thank you for coming to visit my brother, Sieg-senpai."

"It's reasonable for you to come here - then, Stella, I'll see you on stage tonight. I'm looking forward to seeing how strong you'll be. Don't let me easily defeat you in a few moves."

"That's what I want to tell you!"

Stella punched Sieg in the chest: "You are the one. Don't let me kill you before I get serious. I will be very disappointed if I do that."

"How dare you say that."

"Humph!"

.......

The semi-finals of the Seven Stars Sword Festival are about to begin.

Six more hours.

114. Semi-finals, start

The 62nd Seven Stars Sword Festival, day 4.

At six o'clock in the evening.

On the stage of Wangan Dome.

Although the tournament has come to an end, with only three games left, the audience at the event is much larger than any other event in the past!

Because the first match of the fourth round, which is about to begin, is undoubtedly the most anticipated game so far!

[The 62nd Seven Stars Swordsmanship Festival has finally reached the semi-finals! Today’s competition will feature four players who have won all the way to the top four in the country, and they will have a fierce clash! ]

[Each of these four contestants is an outstanding and powerful person. Who will get a ticket to the finals? ]

The passionate voice of the commentator came from the commentary booth, fully arousing the emotions of the audience.

[I believe that the audience can't wait any longer! Then - please invite the two contestants of today's match to enter! ]

“Oooooohh ...

The audience responded to the commentator's calls and cheers broke out in the venue.

Amidst the rain of applause, Stella slowly appeared on the semi-final stage with her crimson hair swaying.

[The first to appear is the 'Red Lotus Princess' - Stella Famillion! She appeared in the red gate. She is the second princess of the Famillion Empire and a genius! Among all the magic knights belonging to the alliance member countries, no one has higher magic power than her! ]

[In the previous three rounds, Stella almost completely destroyed the stage in each round! She is truly powerful and is undoubtedly the top candidate for the victory of this competition! This talented knight is like a shining star in the sky, appearing in this era! ]

[Can she seize the opportunity to win and rush straight to the top of the Seven Stars? ]

Although everyone is already familiar with Stella's reputation, the commentator's explanation has made everyone watching the game fully understand the Red Lotus Princess.

By the way, Stella is one of the most popular among all the magic knights today. After all, her beauty is rare, coupled with the world's strongest magic power and the identity of a princess, which makes both men and women deeply fascinated by her.

In the audience, Ikki Kurogane, who was sitting with the family and friends of Pojun Academy, couldn't help but praise Stella as she walked onto the stage: "Stella is in great shape. Both her breathing and footwork are in top condition... She is really adjusting well."

"Adjust?"

Dongtang Daohua thought about what Stella had done in the past few hours - generally speaking, pre-match adjustments would either involve doing some warm-up exercises or meditating, but Stella's way of adjusting before the game was... eating and sleeping.

In one afternoon, Stella first ate for more than two hours, eating enough food to feed more than a dozen men, and then slept for more than two hours. Only after she had rested enough energy did she come to the Bayside Dome.

No one knows whether this adjustment method is good or not, but at least judging from Stella's condition, she is in unparalleled good condition now.

"Compared to this, is it really okay for you to come and watch the game, Kurogane-san? Your body hasn't fully recovered yet, right?"

"Well, I've gotten permission from the doctor, and..." Kurogane Ikki looked at the stage with some envy, "I want to see more clearly from a close distance how far I am from where I want to go."

If it weren't for yesterday's defeat, Ikki Kurogane would have also stepped onto this stage in the second round later.

And at this moment——

[Next, the champion of Zone A, the 'Flame Beast' - Ziegfell, also appears from the blue gate! ]

"clatter!"

The sound of crisp footsteps suddenly reached everyone's ears. The venue, which was extremely noisy a second ago, was now so quiet that even a pin drop could be heard!

Because Sieg walked out of the blue gate.

[From the first round to the third round, Zigg won a one-sided overwhelming victory! ]

[His strength and ruthlessness are all genuine! Raikiri! Scarlet Lady! Iron Bear——the famous strong men are as weak as babies in front of him! ]

[We also received news that Zigg seemed to have defeated Stella in private! ]