Fantasia Library

"What's happening?"

"That explosion… Is someone dueling?"

"Who could cause such a commotion?"

"I don't know, but it's probably one of the Page Ones; otherwise, it wouldn't be this intense."

"Let's go check it out!"

"If a Page One is fighting, we can't miss it!"

As such conversations spread, many students in Seidoukan Academy were drawn to the powerful explosion, heading toward the girls' dormitory to witness the spectacle.

Aizen, too, looked in the direction of the dormitory, watching the continuous explosions with a thoughtful smile.

"Has it already begun?"

He muttered to himself before heading toward the girls' dormitory.

Along the way, those heading in the same direction noticed him and recognized him instantly.

"Isn't that the Blazing Star Swordsman?"

"The one who's been gaining a lot of attention lately?"

"Yep, that's him…"

Whispers spread through the crowd.

—Blazing Star Swordsman.

This was the title Aizen had earned after rising to 13th place in the rankings at Seidoukan Academy, quickly becoming a household name.

In Asterisk, everyone who made a name for themselves was given a title, and this was no surprise.

For example, Kirin Toudou was known as The Keen-Edged Tempest, and Claudia Enfield was called The Commander of a Thousand Visions. These titles were sometimes more well-known than their real names, and now Aizen had received the same treatment.

As for why Aizen's title was Blazing Star Swordsman, the reason was simple.

"In the heatwaves, a swordsman shone like a star."

This was what impressed everyone during his duel in the Monthly Ranking Battle.

Thus, the title stuck.

Ignoring the stares from the onlookers, Aizen walked straight ahead toward the girls' dormitory.

By the time he reached the area, many students were already gathered, watching the battle unfold.

Yes, a battle was indeed taking place.

As expected, one of the fighters was a girl with waist-length rose-colored hair, radiating a noble and determined aura.

Aizen quickly recalled her profile.

"Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld, a first-year student from the higher department at Seidoukan Academy, one of the Page Ones, currently ranked 5th, with the title The Witch of Resplendent Flames."

She stood in the center of the arena, her expression slightly annoyed, surrounded by swirling stardust as she unleashed a massive amount of prana.

With her immense prana, she made the surrounding mana particles stir, igniting the air into fiery sparks. The girl harnessed the flames to form and shoot fire projectiles—fiery arrows—at her opponent.

Aizen couldn't help but watch with interest.

"Come to think of it, this is the first time I've seen a witch in action."

Among the Genestella, there were a rare few who could naturally connect with mana, creating all kinds of wondrous phenomena.

These individuals, when male, were called Dante, and when female, Strega. They possessed powers akin to those wielded by Orga Lux weapons.

Julis was one such individual, a witch capable of controlling flames.

The explosion just moments ago was caused by her summoning her power and attacking her opponent.

As for the person being bombarded by Julis, it was a boy who appeared to be around Aizen's age.

He had a lanky build, messy black-violet hair, and a relaxed, carefree expression—he looked like someone who wouldn't leave a strong impression at first glance.

Yet, as the victim of Julis's relentless barrage, his relaxed face was now contorted in distress. He was frantically dodging the fiery arrows, barely escaping with each shot that exploded around him.

The explosion continued to erupt around the arena, fiery flowers blooming as the boy desperately evaded the attacks.

"Who is that?"

"I don't know, I've never seen him before."

"I checked, and he's not in the Named Charts."

"Then he must be unranked."

"Seriously, I thought someone from the Page Ones would be fighting her. At the very least, someone ranked."

"An unranked student, daring to challenge The Witch of Resplendent Flames? He's got guts."

"Well, even though he's clearly struggling, he's dodging all her fire arrows."

"Could he be another Blazing Star Swordsman?"

"That's unlikely, right?"

The crowd muttered among themselves, discussing Aizen and the ongoing battle.

Aizen couldn't help but shrug.

He was tempted to say:

"He's nothing like me. I was weak before; he's just pretending to be a fool."

Though this was Aizen's first time seeing him, he quickly recognized the boy's identity.

He wasn't a student of Seidoukan Academy—at least not until today.

He was a newly transferred special student, destined to draw attention from everyone in the future.

This was...

"Ayato Amagiri."

Aizen muttered under his breath, a smile creeping onto his face.

"The protagonist from the original story, finally making his entrance."

If Aizen remembered correctly, the reason these two were clashing was because Ayato had wandered into the girls' dormitory and ended up in Julis's room.

Naturally, Julis, not being one to tolerate such an invasion, attacked him relentlessly.

Watching their fight grow more intense, or perhaps seeing Julis get more frustrated as she couldn't defeat Ayato, she began unleashing more powerful fire attacks, causing explosions to intensify.

Aizen considered stepping in.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Aizen noticed something unusual in the corner of the crowd—a familiar figure.

"Kirin Toudou?"

Aizen was taken aback.

"What's she doing here?"

Kirin appeared to be trying to avoid attention, shrinking back into the crowd, doing her best to minimize her presence.

Aizen hadn't expected to see her here. But upon thinking about it, the girls' dormitory was the natural place for her to be… right?

"Should I say hi?"

Aizen hesitated.

He had just publicly declared war on her, and now he was wondering if it would seem too inconsiderate to casually greet her.

While Aizen thought about this, he saw Kirin's gaze sharpen.

The young girl quickly turned her head in one direction.

"That's...?"

Aizen instinctively followed her gaze and saw a flash of light.

It was an arrow—a light arrow formed from mana, speeding toward its target with the speed of a bullet.

The arrow was aimed at Julis, who had just begun gathering a powerful amount of flame energy, preparing for a deadly strike.

"Watch out!"

Ayato, who had just avoided a fiery attack, widened his eyes and shouted in warning.

At the same time, Aizen noticed Kirin springing into action.

"Swish!"

The petite girl moved so fast that she surpassed the speed of the light arrow, reaching Julis in a blink.

"Clang!"

She unsheathed her sword, a silver blade flashing as she deflected the incoming arrow with precision.

"What?"

Julis seemed momentarily confused, staring at the situation in disbelief.

Kirin stood tall, her blade sheathed again, turning to face Julis. But before she could say anything, her expression changed.

"Swish!"

The sound of wind broke the air.

It was another light arrow, coming for her.

However, once again, someone moved faster.

"Clang!"

A figure appeared in front of Kirin, wielding a sword with a pure white blade.

The Blazing Star Swordsman had entered the fray.