"Excellent Noah, I knew you would win!"
The princess happily embraced the boy in front of the stunned crowd.
This habit, formed over the past two years, seemed to have become her subconscious action whenever she was genuinely happy.
"Stella, my shoulder hurts a bit. Let me treat it first."
"Ah! Oh, I completely forgot you were injured too!"
Indeed, his injury was merely a shallow graze—not an actual, lethal wound, just some residual impact damage from the shattering blade.
Compared to his opponent's dire condition, it was hardly worth mentioning.
He placed his hand over the tear in his suit jacket, guiding ambient water elements into his body to alleviate the phantom pain.
Kurono Shinguuji had already arranged for the medical staff to take Ikki Kurogane to an intensive care pod for recovery.
Watching the medical team leave with the stretcher, she turned and asked the question she had been deeply pondering.
"Kurogane's final trump card, Ittou Shura, should have had exactly nine seconds remaining, yet he suddenly lost consciousness. Was that your doing?"
Noah finished his treatment and stretched his shoulder.
Sure enough, someone had noticed his technique.
He believed the Chairwoman wasn't the only one who had seen it, but no one else was likely certain of what had happened.
After all, even if they knew the correct answer, if the answer itself was too outrageous, self-doubt was inevitable.
Noah smiled without explaining, instead casually tossing the question to the princess beside him.
"Stella, do you know the answer to this question?"
The girl, put on the spot, first thought carefully.
She closed her eyes and tilted her head before suddenly having a flash of insight.
"Ah, could it be... mana severance?"
"Heh. Correct, but no reward for you."
"Hmph, I knew it!"
'Mana severance.'
Kurono Shinguuji was certain she hadn't misheard the casual phrase.
She asked, "So-called mana severance... could that be your unique Blazer Noble Art?"
"No, in terms of magical completeness, that can't even be considered a Noble Art. It is not even a specific combat technique."
"Then?"
"Its exactly what it sounds like. I physically severed his mana flow, forcibly dispelled his Ability and caused the massive side effects and phantom injuries of his own technique to erupt prematurely, knocking him out instantly."
"Impossible!" Kurono instinctively denied it. "To directly interfere with someone else's internal mana flow in the middle of a battle... such a thing..."
"I can do it," Noah replied calmly.
He raised his hand, concentrating his mana into a small, floating ice dagger.
As he pointed the blade toward the Chairwoman, he said, "Pardon me."
With a slight, almost imperceptible flick of the icy blade, Kurono Shinguuji suddenly paled and took a sharp step back.
She stared down at her own hands in utter shock, finding them trembling involuntarily.
"Just now... what happened...?"
"Chairwoman, my apologies. I thought a practical demonstration would be the easiest way to help you understand."
A practical demonstration.
In other words, that sudden drop in her core energy wasn't an illusion.
Her own internal mana flow had truly been momentarily cut open!
In other words, her mana had been directly interfered with by Noah.
'Can human mana control really reach this impossible level?'
She had once been third place in the KOK tournament's A-League.
Though her raw mana capacity was only B-Rank, her mana control was at the absolute highest peak of A-Rank.
Even with the exact same A-Rank mana control, the boy's bizarre ability left her far behind.
At the very least, she couldn't casually interfere with others' internal mana like this without using her Device.
Moreover, she couldn't think of anyone on earth who might be stronger than this boy in pure magical control.
"Kuro-chan! This kid is so incredibly interesting!"
Nene Saikyo, who had been quietly listening from the sidelines until now, suddenly stared at Noah with predatory eyes.
She was currently ranked third in the world.
Stat-wise, she was an ultimate monster, even more terrifying than Stella and the Chairwoman combined.
All her combat stats were A-Rank except for her mana control!
[Nene Saikyo]
Blazer Rank: A
Device: Crimson Phoenix (Iron Fan)
Blazer Type: Natural Causality Type (Gravity Manipulation)
Blazer Skill: Earth Bind Array
Title: Yasha Princess
Attack Power: A
Defense Power: A
Mana Capacity: A
Mana Control: E
Physical Ability: A
Luck: A
What do you call a perfectly balanced, world-ending warrior?
If not for her pathetic E-Rank mana control, this Yasha Princess's stats would be completely maxed out.
Though there are vast differences in power even within A-Rank, having higher base stats is always better.
Even more terrifying was that besides her combat stats, even her physical figure's stats were pure A-Rank.
Because she wasn't actually a little girl.
She's 24.
Yes, this girl who looked exactly like a middle schooler was actually at the age when most people in this country marry and have children.
In this world, 15 is the age of legal adulthood.
The Chairwoman was 25 this year, already happily married and had given birth to a child.
Though it wasn't obvious from her sharp figure and youthful appearance, she was already a proper wife and mother!
This Nene Saikyo was the Chairwoman's contemporary, around the exact same age as her, yet she possessed the physical appearance of a petite little girl.
A little girl's appearance combined with her overly mature revealing clothing gave her a strong sense of immorality.
Her mana control was E-Rank.
The absolute worst of the worst, so she wasn't good at controlling her devastating strength.
Her signature Blazer skill was even designated as a forbidden technique by the League of Mage-Knights due to its excessive collateral range and lethality.
Seeing her predatory interest in Noah, the Chairwoman delivered a swift karate chop to the top of her head, making her crouch defensively while holding her skull.
"Ow! That hurts! Kuro-chan, what was that for?! Why did you hit me?!"
"Because I smelled the rot in your brain."
"There is no such smell!"
"Enough nonsense! Do not get any weird ideas about my students!"
Seeing Noah and Stella's highly confused expressions, the Chairwoman awkwardly explained.
"You just need to know this woman is essentially a walking public indecency charge. I do not want to say more."
"P-Public indecency???" Stella's jaw dropped in shock.
She glanced down at the seemingly well-behaved and cute Nene Saikyo, unable to imagine this tiny person being such a perverted type.
'Wait.'
'Considering her earlier behavior and the Chairwoman's reaction...'
'This woman, could she be targeting Noah?!'
'Oh no, this is bad!'
'She is the Yasha Princess, currently ranked third in the KOK world rankings—one of the strongest Blazers alive!'
'If she forces herself on Noah, could I even protect Noah from her?!'