-1304- The shocking victory

"————"

Silence.

A deathly silence.

In the spectator stands of the fourth training ground, all the spectators who had been ready to watch the show froze, staring at the battle circle below, losing all reaction.

It wasn't just the spectators. Even Stella was stunned, and only Shizuku, as if she had anticipated this outcome, showed a proud expression.

In such a situation, Ikki slowly let his longer, finer, and more ornate Device disappear, without even glancing at Kirihara Shizuya, and turned to walk towards the exit passage.

Kirihara Shizuya lay in a pool of blood, barely clinging to life.

Seeing this...

"Quick!"

From the shadows of the spectator seats, Shinguji Kurono emerged, shouting toward the chairman's platform.

"Quickly get the injured to the IPS regeneration pod for treatment!"

Shinguji Kurono's voice successfully awakened everyone.

"Hurry!"

"Let's go!"

A group of medical personnel rushed up with a stretcher, carrying the blood-soaked Kirihara Shizuya away, heading swiftly towards the facilities with IPS regeneration pods.

After all, with injuries as severe as Kirihara Shizuya's, without the regeneration pod, his life might not be saved.

The spectators could only blankly watch Kirihara Shizuya being taken away, completely unaware of what had happened.

At this moment...

"The... the match is over! It ended in an instant!"

In the live commentary room, the commentator finally reacted, stammering out loud.

"Although it's completely unclear what happened, in just a moment, Kirihara Shizuya seemed to have been attacked, blood spraying everywhere, and fell directly!"

"So, the winner of this match is our dark horse!"

"First-year F-rank knight — Kurogane Ikki!"

The commentator shouted loudly, announcing the result.

However, there were no cheers or applause on site. The spectators were still at a loss, looking at each other in confusion, not knowing how to react.

They just stared at the glaring pool of blood in the battle circle.

"Quite capable..."

Saikyo Nene showed a delighted smile.

"I see..."

Shinguji Kurono squinted her eyes.

"This is..."

Stella held her breath.

"Truly my dear brother!"

Shizuku beamed with a smile.

Even Rozen recalled that pitch-black slash from earlier, and finally, a grin spread across his face.

The most anticipated match of the day ended in such an eerie fashion.

...

"Extra! Extra! The 'Worst One' beat the 'Hunter'!"

"An F-rank knight defeated last year's representative!"

"Kurogane Ikki really defeated Kirihara Shizuya!"

Before long, such news spread rapidly throughout Hagun Academy.

"Impossible!"

"No way!"

"I don't believe it!"

Those who hadn't seen it with their own eyes shook their heads in denial.

"He must have cheated!"

"That F-rank knight cheated!"

"Exactly!"

Those unwilling to believe it began to slander.

"How could an F-rank knight defeat a C-rank knight?"

"And wasn't his opponent that Kirihara? The 'Hunter' known to be the strongest against humans?"

"How could the 'Worst One', who only fights in close combat, defeat the 'Hunter'?"

Those half-believing were still in shock.

The entire academy was in uproar and commotion because of that day's match.

It couldn't be helped.

Although a Blazer's rank doesn't necessarily represent their overall strength but only their ability value, and even a B-rank knight still in training wouldn't necessarily beat a seasoned official knight even if that knight is just C-rank, this principle holds only when the gap isn't too large.

If the gap is too significant, no amount of experience or technique can overcome it.

For example, an A-rank knight like Stella, even though she's just a first-year student, wouldn't be defeated by a C-rank official knight.

When there's a one-rank difference, the disparity isn't too significant and can be compensated with experience and technique. But generally, when the difference is two ranks or more, the gap is too wide for experience and technique to bridge easily.

Like if Ikki and Stella were to duel, even if Ikki's experience and technique surpass Stella's, if she doesn't hold back and uses her magical power, his attacks wouldn't penetrate her magical defenses, and he would lose.

This is the crushing gap in ranks. The larger the gap, the more difficult it is to overcome with experience and technique.

Ikki is an F-rank knight, and Kirihara Shizuya is a C-rank knight, a difference of three whole ranks. The disparity in ability values is enormous. Combined with an unfavorable matchup, the fact that Ikki could defeat Kirihara, and in an instant no less, was hard for most to believe.

However, the school provided a video.

It was a slowed-down video of Ikki and Kirihara Shizuya's fight, slowed by several hundred times.

Thus, when everyone saw the video, all doubts and half-belief disappeared.

Because in the video, there was a scene where Ikki swung his sword abruptly, slicing through the air like a whip, striking down Kirihara Shizuya on the spot.

Seeing this video, even the most skeptical had to believe.

Believe that the academy's weakest F-rank knight truly defeated last year's top freshman and representative, Kirihara Shizuya.

Thus...

"So the 'Worst One' is this strong?"

"I never knew..."

"An F-rank knight can be this powerful?"

"Really... so strong..."

One after another, students began to make such remarks.

Finally, Ikki's strength received proper recognition.

...

Meanwhile, having achieved his first symbolic victory in the academy in the most perfect manner, Ikki returned to his dorm, changed his clothes, and then headed to the student cafeteria with everyone for dinner.

At the dinner table, Ikki resumed his usual demeanor—calm and kind, without the earlier coldness.

Ikki explained with his usual warmth.

"My Device underwent a change about three days ago."

Ikki began to explain his situation.