The Absolute Godspeed of Infinite Worlds

Chapter 708 - 708

"But his opponent is one of his senior sisters. No matter what, he wouldn't completely disregard her dignity."Touka shook her head.

It was true that her junior brother liked to put on a show, but he would never do such things to his own people.

Even if he had never met Momiji Asagi before or even heard of her, out of respect for their master, he would spar with her, offer some guidance, and then defeat her while preserving her dignity.

"Then why did he do it now?"

Kanata Totokubara subtly felt as if she had lost.

Indeed, when it came to understanding Eiji, she could never surpass Touka.

"He instantly defeated Momiji Asagi because he wanted to quickly advance to the next round!"

After a moment of thought, Touka asserted.

"Indeed, only you can guess his thoughts correctly."

Saikyo Nene remained calm, only silently pursing her lips.

Meanwhile.

"Due to the withdrawal of Rentei Academy's contestant Kiriko Yakushi, Akatsuki Academy's contestant Amane Shinomiya automatically advances to the next round! The second round has now concluded!"

The host glanced at his watch, feeling frustrated.

Damn it, the second round only had four matches in total, taking less than an hour—not even half of the originally planned time.

When did the number of contestants decrease so much?

"Next, there will be a half-hour break. The third round of this year's Seven Star Sword Art Festival will begin promptly at 8:30! This round is the finals of each competition zone and will determine a total of four qualifiers who will advance to the tournament's semifinals! Please stay tuned..."

Half an hour, huh.

After leaving the arena, Eiji pondered for a moment. Instead of returning to the spectator seats, he headed in another direction.

The medical room.

At this moment, Kurogane Ikki was lying on the hospital bed. He had reduced the activity of all his internal organs and blood to the minimum, striving to recover as much stamina as possible in the shortest time.

Hearing from the broadcast that the third round would begin in half an hour, Kurogane Ikki's heart tightened.

His next opponent would be quite troublesome.

Regardless of magical power, he needed to recover enough stamina to at least be able to move!

But he only had half an hour to recuperate!

He had just used Ittō Rasetsu, exhausting all his magical power and stamina. A mere half hour was far from enough to recover!

Kurogane Ikki gritted his teeth tightly.

No matter what, he had to appear in half an hour, regardless of his recovery state!

Even if it was just a struggle, he would struggle to the very end!

"How's your condition?"

Just as he was feeling tense, the door opened.

Eiji walked in.

"It probably can't get any worse."

Kurogane Ikki snapped back to reality, temporarily setting aside his anxiety and showing a bitter smile.

He had just died last night, barely managed to revive, and now faced such a difficult situation.

Was he cursed with bad luck this year?

"Indeed, half an hour isn't enough for recovery."

Eiji observed Kurogane Ikki.

From his complexion, he could already discern his current state.

Good thing he had made a special trip here.

"Drink this."

Eiji took a bottle of potion from his pocket and tossed it to Kurogane Ikki.

"What's this?"

Kurogane Ikki hurriedly caught it and asked in confusion.

He didn't doubt the potion was poisonous in the slightest, but couldn't understand why Eiji suddenly produced a potion at this critical moment.

"Drink this. Your physical strength and magical power should return to peak condition within a short time."

Eiji vaguely glossed over questions about its origin and such.

"Such a thing actually exists?"

Kurogane Ikki's face was filled with shock, his pupils constantly trembling.

If he had this kind of thing, his Ittou Shura ultimate technique would never have been limited to once per day before!

"Isn't it too wasteful to use such a precious potion on me?"

Kurogane Ikki hesitated, his expression uncertain.

He understood perfectly well the importance of this potion.

To put it bluntly, this was absolutely something that could save lives at critical moments!

Precisely because he understood its significance, he felt hesitant.

Such a treasure, and he was being allowed to use it in this situation?

"It will be mass-produced in the future, so don't worry about that."

Eiji waved his hand dismissively.

Mass production?!

Was the Blazer world finally about to experience its biggest shock in decades?

Kurogane Ikki was shocked again and again.

"But if I take such a potion, wouldn't it be unfair to the other competitors?"

Although he understood that the potion wasn't too precious, Kurogane Ikki still couldn't make up his mind.

Everyone were competitors standing on the same stage.

Naturally, they should face challenges in the fairest possible state.

His current condition was the result of his own abilities.

If he took such a potion, wouldn't it be very unfair to his next opponent?

"Your flaw is that you worry too much sometimes!"

Eiji clicked his tongue, scolding him without holding back.

"If losing this competition means nothing to you, then you might as well throw the potion away!"

Kurogane Ikki fell silent.

He just subconsciously tightened his grip on the potion bottle.

How could losing mean nothing to him?

The Seven Star Sword Art Festival not only concerned his future, but it was also his promise with Stella!

After a pause, Eiji sighed again.

"Moreover, do you really think this competition is fair?"

"...What do you mean?"

Kurogane Ikki raised his head, his gaze intensifying.

"Do you think encountering the One-Armed Swordsman was a coincidence?"

Eiji crossed his arms, leaning against the door frame, just sneering coldly to himself.

"You actually died once, and although Kiriko Yakushi saved you, it caused both Miss Kiriko and Shizuku to withdraw from the competition. Then today the schedule was suddenly changed, very coincidentally targeting you... After saying all this, you should have an answer in your heart, right?"

That's right.

Each change seemed to have a reason, but when put together, they became inevitable.

This kind of change was like the interference of fate itself.

"Unless something unexpected happens, this interference should be targeting me."

Eiji said coldly.

Although it was speculation, his demeanor was very certain.

The interference from fate should have him as its primary target.

However, this interference was nullified because he carried a special divine artifact.

Whereas Kurogane Ikki, Kurogane Shizuku, Kiriko Yakushi, and others were dragged into it.

They didn't have such divine artifacts, so they all fell victim to it.

The reason Touka was unaffected... was only for now.

The current schedule being so targeted against Kurogane Ikki was probably eighty percent due to interference from fate.

"I've said all I need to say."

Eiji turned around and opened the door.

"How to choose ultimately depends on yourself."

After saying this,

Eiji vanished from the infirmary.

Kurogane Ikki withdrew his gaze from his retreating figure and lowered his head, focusing his eyes on the medicine bottle.

His gaze soon grew resolute as he raised the bottle and drank the medicine in one gulp.