In the ruined guild hall, the Imperial March echoed through the shattered chamber.
Two figures blurred across the broken floor.
Red and white energy clashed in rapid flashes.
Kuroka moved like a shadow, wielding twin energy daggers. Her strikes were swift and unpredictable.
But Vader stood like an immovable wall.
Every strike met his crimson blade.
Sparks burst with each collision.
Kuroka grinned.
"Not bad. You used to be terrible at sword fighting. When did you become this good, nya~?"
Vader's mechanical breathing filled the hall.
"My powers have doubled since the last time we met, cat."
Their blades collided again.
Kuroka's next strike slipped past his guard.
Vader raised his hand.
The invisible impact hurled her into a shattered pillar.
She kicked off the wall and flipped back to the floor.
"You mean the day before yesterday?" she teased. "That's only two days."
"I am a fast learner," Vader replied.
With a gesture, chunks of stone and broken marble tore free from the ground and launched toward her.
Kuroka vanished.
She reappeared behind him in the same instant, daggers flashing toward his back.
Vader turned smoothly.
One dagger struck his lightsaber.
The other froze in midair, caught by invisible telekinetic force.
Vader's hand tightened.
Kuroka lifted from the ground, her throat caught in an invisible grip.
"I have you now," Vader said.
A burst of black smoke erupted from her body.
The grip closed on empty air.
Kuroka reappeared several meters away, tails swaying lazily.
"Ara~ looks like I'll have to get serious now, nya~."
Vader did not answer.
Only the slow, mechanical breathing echoed through the ruined hall.
Then Kuroka rushed forward again, daggers flashing.
Vader moved his lightsaber to intercept.
But she vanished.
He felt movement behind him and turned smoothly, blade already moving.
"Using the same attack again is foolish."
Kuroka disappeared once more.
This time, she reappeared at his side.
Vader's hand rose slightly, ready to catch her in a Force choke.
But she vanished again, appearing several meters away with a grin.
"Not bad," Vader said. "Your teleportation has improved."
Kuroka flicked her tail lazily.
"Well, I trained it with you after all. Besides…"
Her smile widened.
"…I can do more than that, nya~."
Suddenly, multiple Kurokas appeared around him.
Some stood back.
Others rushed in.
Vader did not move.
"As I said, illusions will not—"
Before he could finish, Aura bullets erupted from every direction.
Dozens of them.
At the same time, several Kurokas lunged toward him.
Vader's eyes narrowed.
She was switching places with the clones.
And some of the aura bullets were real.
The crimson blade flashed.
He cut down several projectiles and intercepted the real Kuroka's strike.
Then something slipped past his guard.
The aura bullet he cut dispersed into mist.
An illusion.
The one he ignored suddenly solidified and shot toward him.
Vader reacted instantly.
The projectile stopped inches from his armor, caught by invisible telekinetic force.
"Not bad," he said.
"You teleported the aura bullets as well."
Kuroka's grin widened.
"Well~ there's more where that came from, nya~."
She moved again.
The same chaotic pattern resumed.
But this time Vader adapted quickly.
"Repeating the same trick is unwise."
His hand thrust forward.
A Force push blasted the real Kuroka backward.
She landed lightly and smirked.
"Maybe… but it distracted you, didn't it?"
Vader felt something shift above him.
His helmet tilted upward.
The ceiling was breaking.
The entire building had begun to destabilize.
Then, suddenly, the entire structure began to collapse.
Cracks raced across the ceiling.
Massive stone slabs broke free and plunged downward.
Vader raised one hand.
The falling building froze in midair.
Thousands of kilograms of stone hovered above him, held back by invisible telekinetic force.
At the same time, several aura bullets shot toward him.
They stopped in the air as well.
Suspended inches from his armor.
Vader's mechanical breathing echoed through the ruined hall.
"Do not underestimate me, cat. I— HHRKSHHH!"
A thunderous mechanical sneeze echoed through the chamber.
The suspended rubble suddenly dipped several inches before stabilizing again.
Vader's helmet tilted slightly.
"I thought I cleared it…HHRKSHHH!"
Another sneeze erupted.
Then another.
In the distance, Kuroka watched with a sly smile.
"All according to plan, nya~."
A purple octagram magic circle appeared behind her.
Senjutsu, youjutsu, and devil energy began to merge together.
The power condensed into a spinning white wheel of energy.
It grew larger and faster with each rotation.
Meanwhile, Vader's control was slipping.
HHRKSHHH!
HHRKSHHH!
HHRKSHHHHHHHHH!
Each sneeze shook the telekinetic field holding the collapsing building.
Kuroka raised her hand.
"Here… take this."
The spinning white wheel shot toward him.
Akira quickly analyzed the situation.
Sneezing.
Holding up a collapsing building.
And now this attack.
And if he didn't block it, it would completely damage his new armor.
He exhaled slowly.
Fine.
If he couldn't stop the chaos…
He would weaponize it.
As the attack reached him, he gathered all his energy.
Then.
—HHRKSHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
The sneeze exploded outward with a massive telekinetic repulse.
The shockwave blasted in every direction.
The suspended rubble.
The collapsing building.
The incoming attack.
Everything was blown away in a violent storm of debris.
A massive crater now stood where the guild headquarters had once been.
At its center stood Vader.
The sneezing had finally stopped.
In the distance, Kuroka pushed herself up from the debris.
"What kind of attack was that?" she complained, dusting herself off. "That's so unfair, nya~."
Vader lowered his hand.
"You have lost. Now surrender."
Kuroka grinned.
"Not really. I still have one more trick, nya~."
She raised her arms.
Energy gathered around her wrists.
The twin daggers mounted there began to grow larger and larger until they transformed into massive glowing claws.
"This is my strongest attack," she said. "Can you take it, Akira?"
Vader said nothing.
He simply took a stance, crimson lightsaber raised.
Around him, broken stone and debris slowly lifted into the air.
They began to orbit him like planets circling a dark star.
"Come."
Kuroka lunged forward.
Vader stepped to meet her.
Then—
GRRRRRRR.
The loud sound echoed from inside the armor. More specifically, inside Akira's stomach.
Kuroka froze.
Akira also froze.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
For a moment, no one said anything.
Then—
Kuroka burst out laughing.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Ara! Did the Dark Lord skip dinner?"
Vader, or rather Akira, stiffened slightly. He didn't know what to say.
"You… It's not like that."
Kuroka laughed even harder.
"I've never seen a Dark Lord this hungry! Hahahaha!"
Now, Akira didn't know how to handle this situation.
He needed a distraction.
"Oh… the Emperor is summoning me. I have to leave."
Then he added coldly,
"Consider yourself lucky to survive this."
A white magic circle appeared beneath him.
At its center was the crest of the Starlight family, a sword planted before a tree of light, surrounded by stars.
Then Akira disappeared.
But Kuroka was still laughing at the absurdity of the situation.
"Hahahahaha! Unbelievable!"
Just then, someone flew next to Kuroka on a flying broom.
It was a cute girl with shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a huge blue witch hat with a matching cape. She looked exactly like a classic witch.
"Oh," she said, sounding slightly disappointed. "He already left? I wanted my novel copy signed."
Kuroka wiped a tear from her eye.
"He went to eat dinner. It can't be helped."
She glanced at the girl.
"You're one of his fans, too?"
The girl, La Fay Pendragon, nodded.
"Yes. His light novels are great, and his magic is unique, too. Like the armor he used to fight you, its internal mana circuits are so sophisticated. I really wanted to take a closer look."
Kuroka shrugged.
"Well, he must have made it to cosplay, nya~. You can ask him when we meet again."
La Fay then asked,
"What about the data we had to retrieve? What should we say?"
Kuroka walked away casually.
"Let's just say we were attacked by someone and everything was destroyed, nya~."
La Fay watched her walk away.
Then she sighed and muttered quietly,
"So that's Sirius Lucen Starlight-sama."
She looked down at the ring on her finger.
A beautiful ring made of white crystal, with a purple gem at its center.
Its glow was slowly fading as Akira left.
"What an interesting person."