Chapter 910: The Sword of Damocles and a New Husband
The Hagun Academy Duel Arena echoed with the sharp clash of steel and the roar of the crowd.
Down in the center ring, two students traded rapid blows, their Devices sparking upon impact. Up in the VIP viewing area, a petite, black-haired woman dressed in an elegant kimono sat with one leg crossed over the other. She held a folding fan, waving it lazily in front of her face. Her dark eyes tracked the exchange below with deep boredom.
"Tsk. Kurono lied to me again," she muttered, snapping the fan shut. "There aren't any decent prospects in this entire school."
Her name was Nene Saikyo.
Currently serving as a temporary instructor at Hagun Academy—personally invited by the director, Kurono Shinguuji—she was far more than a simple teacher. She was one of the only three Desperados in Japan, an active KOK A-League competitor, and ranked third in the entire world.
If Kurono hadn't sworn up and down that this academy housed exceptional talents, Nene wouldn't have bothered stepping foot on the campus.
Yet, after observing for quite some time, she had to admit there were exactly two exceptions to her disappointment. One was a highly peculiar boy named Ikki Kurogane.
The other was the blonde, glasses-wearing girl currently dominating the duel below.
Down in the arena, the girl gripped her katana. Crackling arcs of golden lightning surged up her arms, wreathing her entire body in a blinding electrical storm. Her opponent, a seasoned Blazer, stumbled back, his face pale with absolute bewilderment.
This was Toka Todo.
A Class 3-3 student, the Student Council President, and widely feared as the 'Strongest Student Council President' in Hagun's history. Nene knew her record well: a top-four finalist in last year's Seven Stars Sword Art Festival and undeniably one of the academy's most lethal Knights.
Based on Nene's observations, Toka was a walking contradiction. Off the battlefield, she was a clumsy, mild-mannered girl who constantly adjusted her glasses and stumbled over flat surfaces. Yet, her earnest dedication and gentle nature earned her the absolute loyalty and affection of both the faculty and her peers. The Student Council members teased her relentlessly, but they would follow her into hell.
When a blade was in her hand, that clumsiness vanished. She transformed into a relentless, brave warrior who never took a single step back, no matter how terrifying the opponent. She trained to the point of exhaustion, constantly refining her Noble Arts and researching new sword techniques.
Nene was genuinely satisfied with Toka Todo.
But that was it. Just two decent prospects in the entire academy.
What Nene actually wanted to see was the natural-born Desperado, the prodigy who defied all logic—the Imperial Princess, Stella Vermillion.
Except, the princess had vanished without a trace a hundred days ago.
Nene sighed, leaning her chin on her hand.
"Toka Todo, victory!" the referee's voice boomed over the speakers.
The opponent had collapsed, completely overwhelmed. Toka dispersed her lightning, the brilliant arcs fading into the air as she dismissed her Device. She let out a long, exhausted breath, her shoulders slumping back into her usual non-threatening posture.
She turned to leave the arena.
Then, the world shook.
Boom!
A deafening roar shattered the sky. The sheer atmospheric pressure cracked the arena's protective glass.
Nene Saikyo's eyes snapped wide open. Her lazy demeanor vanished instantly. She felt it—a surge of magical energy so dense and terrifying it made the air taste like copper.
In a blur of motion, she vanished from the VIP box, reappearing outside the arena under the open sky.
She looked toward the horizon. For the first time in years, genuine, unadulterated astonishment painted her cynical face.
"What in the world is that...?"
Down below, Toka Todo stood frozen, her glasses slipping down her nose as she stared upward in an absolute daze.
Suspended high in the distant sky was a magnificent, colossal sword of pure, blinding light. It hung there like the Sword of Damocles, so massive it seemed ready to cleave the very heavens and earth in twain. The apocalyptic pressure radiating from it promised absolute annihilation. If that blade fell, the resulting disaster would erase the map.
Nene swallowed hard. She could summon meteorites by manipulating gravity, but compared to that towering construct of light, her ultimate moves felt like throwing pebbles.
As quickly as it appeared, the giant sword dissolved into motes of golden light, vanishing into the wind.
"That direction..." Nene narrowed her eyes, calculating the distance. "Tonrou Academy..."
"Ayase, aren't you going to kill him?" Shizuku Kurogane asked, tilting her head in genuine confusion.
The three girls stood in the courtyard of Tonrou Academy. A few paces away lay Kuraudo Kurashiki, the man who had brutally challenged the Ayatsuji family's dojo and beaten Ayase's father into a coma.
Ayase had just dismantled him completely, her blade proving utterly superior. Yet, she kept her sword sheathed, refusing to take his life in revenge.
As for the continent-destroying sword of light that had just terrified the entire city? That was also Ayase's doing. When the thugs of Tonrou Academy tried to surround them and block their exit, she simply manifested a fraction of her new power as a deterrent. No one dared to take a single step forward after that.
"Mhm. I've already thought it through," Ayase Ayatsuji said, turning back with a soft, serene smile. "He defeated my father fair and square in a duel. What happened to my father was a tragedy, but it was the result of a legitimate challenge."
She looked down at her hands. "Before, I was completely blinded by hatred. I wanted him dead. But now... now I have the power to actually help my father recover. That is what matters. The grudge ends here."
"That's a good way to look at it," Stella Vermillion agreed, crossing her arms. "When does the cycle of vengeance actually end? Since the damage can be undone, there's no need to stain your hands with extreme actions."
"Mhm. And all of this is thanks to Ren-kun." Ayase's eyes practically melted into puddles of deep, overwhelming affection. A rosy flush spread across her cheeks as she hugged herself slightly.
"Hey, don't get all mushy out here in public," Shizuku sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Ren isn't even here to see it."
"Ugh, sorry!" Ayase stuck her tongue out playfully, her cheeks burning brighter. "I just can't help myself when I think about him."
Stella chuckled, shaking her head. "Should we head back to Hagun Academy now?"
"Actually, I need to make a trip back to the Vermillion Kingdom," Stella said, looking toward the horizon. "I don't plan on returning to the academy just yet. My parents have no idea I'm back in this world. I need to show them I'm safe before they worry themselves sick."
She looked at the other two. "You two should head back to Hagun first."
"No way. We're sisters now. We go together," Shizuku said, stepping forward and firmly linking her arm through Stella's right arm.
"Mm! You both came all the way to Tonrou Academy to support me. I'm definitely coming with you," Ayase added, happily taking Stella's left arm.
Stella looked at the two girls clinging to her sides. A warm, tight feeling blossomed in her chest. "...Thank you."
Though they had technically become 'sisters' because they all shared the same man, a genuine, unbreakable bond of friendship had formed between them. They trusted each other with their lives.
Of course, Stella thought with a wry inward sigh, it would be absolutely perfect if Ren wasn't such an incorrigible lecher who kept finding us more sisters.
Unfortunately, trying to stop Ren from expanding his harem was like trying to stop the sun from rising.
Deep within an isolated alternate dimension.
While Stella was lamenting his habits, Ren had indeed already found them a brand-new 'Big Sister.'
Kurono Shinguuji certainly fit the title.
"Are you still questioning reality?" Ren asked, a lazy, satisfied smile playing on his lips as he looked down at the woman beneath him.
Kurono lay against the sheets, her chest heaving, her eyes glazed over with a mixture of absolute exhaustion and lingering euphoria. She looked as though she had just been entirely rebuilt from the ground up. Slowly, she shook her head, her dark hair fanning out wildly.
She had just witnessed Ren's god-like power firsthand. In every conceivable aspect.
"Kurono," Ren murmured, tracing a finger down her flushed cheek. "Your little lie seems to have finally come true."
Kurono's lips twitched.
He was treating her entirely as his possession, and the maddening part was that she couldn't even find the strength to argue. Years ago, she had officially withdrawn from the KOK League, citing 'marriage' as her reason for retirement. It had been a complete fabrication, a convenient excuse to step away from the bloody front lines.
But now? Her body had been thoroughly conquered, explored, and claimed by the man hovering above her. She knew exactly what his teasing words meant.
The room fell into a heavy, heated silence, broken only by her ragged breathing.
Finally, Kurono parted her lips. Her voice was husky, stripped of all its usual authoritative bite.
"From now on... my husband is... Ren-kun."
"Hm-hm." Ren chuckled, a low, vibrating sound in his chest. The sheer pleasure of conquest was intoxicating. He had taken the legendary World Clock, one of the most powerful women on the planet, and made her entirely his.
"Very good," Ren whispered, his hands trailing down her waist, reigniting the sparks across her sensitive skin. "Then, as your husband, it is my absolute duty to love you properly. Come on. Turn around."
Kurono bit her lower lip, her cheeks burning furiously, but she obediently turned over.
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