Chapter 20: Memory that Can't be Casted Away
Nene’s mother was remarried to a worthless man who didn’t work and was just drinking and playing. The man would raise his voice and became violent while drunk at something he didn’t like even a little, which caused her mother always crying. Nene would get hit at any opportunity for reason of “unable to make money with her ability to make objects float in the air”, though it wouldn’t be painful for a Blazer like Nene. She and her mother would just let those days pass by until she couldn’t take it anymore. One day, they were having Nene’s favorite food for dinner but her stepfather got angry for some reason as usual. He was being violent at her mother and stepped on her favorite food that fell on the floor. At that moment, for the first in her life she became irritated and seriously hit her stepfather in the face with her fist. He died from the hit, but she felt joy instead of regret. She also discovered at the same time that gravity was her true ability. A year after, Nene’s mother disappeared after unable to endure being with her anymore since she killed her stepfather. Around that time Nene started to pick fights at school, streets and even underground fighting arenas due to being drunk in releasing the power idling within her. She would keep fighting until she crushes her enemies, makes them beg for forgiveness while crying and feels satisfied. Nene who enjoyed such violence was given the nickname “Yaksha Princess” and when she reached middle school there was no one in West Japan who wouldn’t know the name of the delinquent. During her 3rd year of middle school, she was arrested along with all fighters who were in an underground fighting arena managed by gangsters. Nene had not entered a mage-knight school yet but the incident along with her mountain list of previous offenses caused the League of Mage-Knight Nations to seriously consider revoking her qualifications to be a knight which would have been the first since Japan joined the League. However, a turning point in her degenerating life then came.
The scene then takes place in a police hospital in Kyoto. The Commissioner General of the National Police Agency named Hizaki is visiting to see Nene. He is escorted to a VIP room which is like a first-class hotel suite filled with luxurious furniture. When he enters he is shocked to see Nene relaxing on a massage chair while watching TV and getting a nail art as shown in a pic. A chief of police named Shimogamo also has brought what Nene ordered him to buy, which is a confectionery that is difficult to buy. Hizaki demands to know why the notorious problem child who is not even injured is being treated like a VIP here. If this becomes public the police will lose their authority, so Hizaki orders Shimogamo to have Nene put in a detention center immediately. However, Shimogamo won’t obey even if he is ordered by the Commissioner General. He then explains that they didn’t arrest her because it was impossible as the Kyoto Prefectural Police didn’t have the power to do so. The only thing they could do was keep Nene here and provide her with as much hospitality as possible. Hizaki then asks why they are being pathetic since there are still knights in Japan who are stronger than Nene, such as Kaieda and Kiba for example. Shimogamo replies they don’t know when those knights will arrive and Nene has the power to destroy the entire hospital area. With a pale face, he further explains that the police really didn’t do anything when they arrested the gangsters running the underground fighting arena. Nene annihilated the entire Kyoto faction of the largest gangster organization in Japan because they angered her due to money issue, and she did it in just one minute. The police only restrained them after their whole bodies shattered due to many of their bones broken. Nene then stands up and gives Shimogamo a light kiss to his cheek while pulling his necktie and demands him.
“Ojisan sure is an honest and good kid. I’m pleased. Are you free tonight?”
“N, no, I am…”
“You are free, right?”
“Y, yes…, of course”
“Okay then, I will be waiting in this room tonight”
Shimogamo complies at the terrifying eyes that refuse “no” for an answer while making a drop of sweat, and Nene makes a sadistic smile towards his obedience. She then turns her eyes on Hizaki and says in a bad mood voice that he is somehow annoying her. Suddenly, Hizaki’s body is lifted into the air and his neck is being squeezed by Nene’s gravity ability. Nene says she hates people who annoy her, especially those who only have big attitudes even though they don’t have the power to entertain her. Before she could really crush him, Hizaki’s body suddenly falls to the ground as if the gravity holding him was cut. A voice is then heard, saying that the girl called “Yaksha Princess” turns out to be far less than the monster he had imagined and is just a misbehaved child. The owner of the voice is an old man who enters the room shortly after and he introduces himself as Torajirou Nangou. He has come to offer a good proposition to Nene.
Nangou explains to Nene that if a Blazer doesn’t have a license they are not allowed to use their ability and will be monitored for the rest of their lives. So he offers Nene to be under his care and study for 3 years in Bukyoku Academy where he works as an advisor in battle techniques. If she agrees, he will negotiate with the League headquarters to make her punishment end up being temporary observation and she will obtain mage-knight license. But Nene understands that he is scouting her to participate in the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival. She then says she’s not interested in becoming a mage-knight since even without a license she would still get good treatment from Yakuza, terrorists or such. In addition, she hates school since there is no thrill there as everyone would fear her and whisper behind her back. As a result, she entered the world of underground fighting as it was more exciting for her. Nangou then asks if she’s fine with choosing a boring life such as being a disposable pawn for evil people, and thinks that she’s wasting her talent. To this provocation, Nene stands up and places her foot on the table in front of Nagou and asks if he would like to test her. Nangou comments that girls these days are scary and wonders jokingly if Nene is one of those “yanmama (young mothers)”, which Nene angrily replies that she has never given birth. Nangou then says that hurting an old man that has retired from the frontlines is nothing to boast about, but the world is much bigger than Nene thinks. At this rate, Nene will end up being second-rate at best since in Japan there is a girl of her generation who is stronger than her. Nene doesn’t believe it because all the people she fought in the Little League were very weak compared to her and so the Senior League shouldn’t have anyone strong as well. In response, Nangou proposes a bet. Nene and that girl will have a mock battle and if Nene loses she will enroll in Bukyoku while being under Nangou’s care. Nangou also says that he will allow Nene to do whatever she wants with his body if she wins. Nene replies that she will kill him, and Nangou then says that it was just a joke. He will actually do whatever she asks if she wins. Nene accepts his bet since she’s interested in this other girl and she has some time to kill.
It is now the beginning of spring and Nene has arrived at Hagun Academy in Tokyo. One of the school’s training grounds is being lent for the mock battle. Important people in suits are also there and they are discussing about Nene. One of them wonders why Nangou is planning to have the problem child Nene enrolled in Bukyoku Academy. Itsuki Kurogane replies that it’s not a bad thing since the League’s Japan branch wants her to be reformed and work as a mage-knight for the nation. Some of them is also worried that Nene will eventually tarnish the reputation of mage-knights in Japan but it will be fine as long as they are able to make her behave after she gets beaten. Nene feels irritated because the conversation she overhears is based on the assumption that she will lose this mock battle. This makes her wonder about who is the person she’s about to fight. That person finally arrives while being escorted by Bakuga Tsukikage. It is a beautiful girl with long black hair, plump breasts, slender legs and deep-colored eyes. Nene doesn’t seem to like her since she looks like a young lady that grew up in a warm home based on her beautiful hair and nails and her smooth skin. Nangou who is waiting nearby apologizes to Tsukikage since having this mock battle is so sudden and the girl is not officially a student of Hagun Academy yet. The girl says it’s fine since she doesn’t have much experience in a match and so it is good learning for her. She introduces herself as Kurono Takizawa, who will be attending Hagun Academy starting this year. Kurono offers a handshake to Nene as shown in a colored pic but Nene responds by saying she doesn’t recognize Kurono of ever been in the Little or Senior League, and so asks when Kurono first became a Blazer. Kurono answers that it was last year’s late spring and because of that she didn’t even make the registration for the Senior League in time. Nene then says she will make Kurono learn how dangerous the opponent she’s picking a fight with is. Tsukikage tells Nangou that he admires him as a fellow educator since Nangou tries to put Nene on the right path. But Nangou replies that it’s actually because he wants to raise Nene’s talent by himself and have her challenge Kurono who is expected to be the strongest student knight in the history of the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival. Tsukikage tells Kurono not push herself too much but Kurono says it will be fine because Nene is not an opponent that Kurono needs to push herself much. Kurono is a late bloomer that had just awakened her Blazer ability a year ago. However, her overwhelming ability caught the attention of the country’s important officials when it was blooming and she received high expectations. Tsukikage also thinks that Kurono will win and that Nene won’t be able to touch her. The match starts after Nene and Kurono manifest their Devices.
“Let’s bewitch them! ‘Beniiro Ageha’!”
“Shred eternity. ‘Propator’, ‘Ennoia’”
The match uses Senior League rules which have 10 counts and 3 knockdowns, and they use their Devices in illusion form. It starts by Nene about to use her iron fans to attack Kurono. However, Kurono suddenly disappears and immediately shows up behind Nene while aiming her gun on the back of Nene’s head. Kurono fires her gun and then the bullets in illusion form penetrates Nene’s skull, causing Nene to fall to the ground. Those who are watching the match comment that Kurono’s causation interference type ability to manipulate time is very powerful since Nene who also has strong ability went down so fast. Kurono was able to get behind Nene fast by using “Clock Up” to accelerate her own time. Nangou is amazed that Kurono is already accustomed to combat despite having just manifested her Device less than a year ago. Kurono’s rare ability caused her to receive special education from the League’s Japan branch and Hagun Academy ever since her ability first manifested. She is recognized as a talented super elite since the education she received was severe even for adults but she handled it without difficulty. Thus, Tsukikage is surprised to see Nene still able to stand against such opponent. Nangou explains that damages caused by illusion form are like receiving strong hypnosis so they can be endured if the person has strong mentality. But Nene is still receiving the same pain and so her consciousness is hazy. She still intends to continue the fight and finally understands why everyone is convinced Kurono will win. Kurono explains that her Noble Art “Clock Up (time increase)” can extend her own time within one second of the world’s time and currently her limit is moving up to 10 times as fast. Nene then moves towards Kurono to engage her in close combat. Kurono uses “Clock Up” to increase her speed to 10 times but Nene uses “Jibakujin” to cause Kurono to slow down from the heavy gravity. Nene then swings her Device that is filled with super gravity mass towards Kurono. However, Kurono uses “Clock Lock (time freeze)” to stop Nene’s time including the time of the space around her. While Nene’s body is frozen with a swinging down posture, Kurono moves back and then fires a total of 20 bullets at Nene. The bullets stop in the air in front of Nene since they have entered the space where time has stopped. Kurono then uses “Clock Draw” which she fires another bullet and it causes the stopped time to move again. As a result, all the bullets that had stopped in the air now have pierced Nene’s body at the same time. Nene once again collapses to the ground but she still isn’t giving up. She feels irritated by Kurono and so is determined to beat her up. Despite all the pain she has received, Nene manages to get up which surprises everyone. Kurono suggests that Nene surrenders but she refuses.
Nene then is attacking from a distance by swinging her fan which causes crescent-shaped super gravity energy flying towards Kurono while Kurono sighs at the same time. Once again the time of the space around Nene is stopped and after getting closer Kurono fires 60 bullets this time. Tsukikage can’t help but feel frightened at the sight he’s seeing. Nene is clearly stronger than even the Senior League’s current year winner and possesses power of a B-rank or higher, but Kurono is dealing with Nene easily. If the time of the space around Nene moves again, she will be hit with the barrage of bullets. However, all 60 bullets bend in unnatural trajectories and pass through the side of Nene’s body. Nene had used her gravity ability to distort the space-time of the area around her, which impresses Tsukikage. Nene immediately moves towards Kurono to attack but her whole body ends up being hit by Kurono’s bullets. The reason Nene couldn’t avoid “Clock Draw” this time was because there was no gap between her body and the bullets. Kurono narrowed down the area where time stopped to just barely the outlines of Nene’s body and so the bullets were fired at almost point blank distance. However, despite receiving dozens of fatal wounds in illusion form, Nene doesn’t go down. She says it’s still not over and that she refuses to lose to a sparkling young lady like Kurono. Nene is barely standing which indicates that she has already reached her limit. Tsukikage suggests that the match is stopped because any more than this might cause psychological trauma to Nene. However, Nangou believes that Nene is planning something judging from the expression on her face. Kurono once again uses “Clock Draw” and this time 200 bullets hit Nene. However, Kurono notices that Nene is vomiting large amount of blood which confuses Kurono because she is using her Device in illusion form.
Kurono runs towards Nene to see if she’s alright. Once Kurono is close and unprotected, Nene raises her own head and it hits Kurono’s chin. Nene then uses her iron fan that is powered with her magic to strike Kurono and this causes Kurono to fall down to the ground. However, Nene doesn’t stop even after the referee declares that Kurono is down. Nene jumps and lands on the fallen Kurono’s abdomen. While mounting on top of Kurono, Nene hits Kurono’s face with her iron fan many, many times while laughing and telling Kurono to die. The referee immediately pulls Nene away from Kurono and it is revealed that the blood Nene released from her mouth was actually due to biting her own tongue. Everyone watching is shocked with fear since Nene would go that far just to win a mock battle. While looking down on Kurono who is still down on the ground, Nene mocks her while laughing.
“KYAHAHAHAHAA! SERVES YOU RIGHT, STU-PID! SUCH A GOOD SENSATION! SAYING THINGS LIKE ‘GIVE UP’ OR ‘IT’S POINTLESS’! IT’S BECAUSE YOU ALLOWED SUCH OPENING AND LET YOUR GUARD DOWN THAT YOU’VE EXPERIENCED SUCH UNPLEASENT THING! “KYAHAHAHAHAA!”
“I see. It’s certainly like that.”
Suddenly, Kurono who is supposed to be on the ground disappears and Nene feels a blow to the back of her head. She looks towards her back but no one is there and then suddenly she feels another blow to her abdomen coming from right. While faltering Nene swings her weapon towards the enemy who is supposed to be there but once again she receives another blow from a different direction. She keeps receiving blows one after another on different parts of her body as if violence is raining on her, even though she can’t see Kurono’s figure. The technique Kurono is using right now is called “Rush Hour”, which is a combined technique that makes use of “Clock Lock” and “Clock Up” at the same time. It causes the time difference between both sides becoming much wider and thus Nene is being continuously shot, hit with the butt of Kurono’s gun and kicked from all directions while unable to deal with it. This event occurs in the world for a short time but Nene can experience this even for hours. Suddenly, Kurono pulls up Nene’s hair to prevent the fall of Nene, who looks like she’s about to lose consciousness, and puts her gun into Nene’s mouth as shown in a pic. She then says she realizes that there are people who would take advantage of those who think of defeating their opponent without hurting them and so she has to cast away her sympathy towards her opponent while challenging them in a serious fight. Kurono, with a face that shows anger and recognizing the opponent in front of her as her enemy, thanks Nene for the lesson and then tells her to die. After Kurono pulls the trigger of her gun, Nene’s body then stops moving. With an expression of disgust on her face, Kurono let goes of Nene’s hair which causes Nene to fall to the ground for the third time and Kurono being declared as the winner of the match.
Nene later wakes up in a medical room half a day later, and realizes that she lost in her match against Kurono. She then overhears Nangou and Tsukikage talking outside the room. They talk about how Nene never gave up and was able to touch Kurono despite the latter having such an overwhelming ability. Tsukikage says Nene is more amazing than he thought and he’s counting on Nangou since he is the only teacher in Japan who can handle her. After Tsukikage leaves, Nangou enters Nene’s room and finds her awake. He mentions about Nene losing miserably despite her opponent lacked much experience, which causes Nene to be angry. She throws random things nearby at him, but he catches all of them from being agile despite his old age. Nene is obviously irritated, angry, frustrated and envious after having been defeated by Kurono so easily despite all the effort Nene made. However, Nangou also asks Nene if the match was fun, which Nene doesn’t deny. Nangou says that giving everything you have in order to make the opponent that irritates you to do what you want and overturn impossible things is very fun. He said it with a scary enjoyable expression that causes Nene tremble. She asks if that’s the kind of face an educator should make and Nangou replies in his usual happy tone that he and Nene are both perverse after all. Nangou then asks Nene if she wants to work with him so that she can have an extremely enjoyable fight with the undefeated and talented Kurono. Nene accepts and swears that she will be the one looking down on her enemy instead.
In the present time, Nene is remembering what happened after she decided to train under Nangou. Nene had worked hard by undergoing harsh special training in order to become much stronger and to return the humiliation she received back to Kurono. However, that day never came because Kurono chose to live as a woman and a mother over settling things with Nene. Nene then thinks that it’s fine since everything she forged in order to defeat Kurono can be used on the opponent currently in front of her instead and it should be fun. She mutters that being convinced of that should put her at ease. However, Nene who had been on top of Naseem and hitting him suddenly stops attacking and gets off of him. Naseem is confused because Nene could have finished him off but she didn’t. Nene says she can’t fight seriously when he is her opponent because he doesn’t irritate her. Naseem is like Nene before she met Kurono. The person Nene wants to fight with everything she’s got has always been Kurono, not someone boring like Naseem. Kurono’s appearance and way of life from when Nene first met her caused Nene to be irritated and admired of Kurono. It’s because she admired her that she wanted to defeat her. Nene then thanks Naseem because it’s thanks to him that she has realized that she can’t let go of her admiration. If she can’t settle things with Kurono, then all she has to do is make Kurono admiring her this time. Immediately after, Nene’s horns and black right arm break apart and her eyes return to normal. Nene returns back to her usual form because her form during “Excessive Awakening” is not something she should show Kurono, even if it means reducing her fighting power. As shown in a pic, she manifests again her Device, which is the embodiment of her soul that was once broken, and holds it in her remaining left hand in order to challenge Naseem again.
Naseem gets up and says it was foolish of Nene to let go of the power that could have defeated him. Nene’s “Jibakujin” that was holding Naseem down to the ground has become weakened now that Nene is no longer in “Excessive Awakening” state. Naseem now is able to reconstruct his body with his ability to turn his body into dust. It was the first time that Naseem became terrified during battle when he couldn’t do anything and was close to death. But he doesn’t have to worry anymore now that Nene is back in her human form. His right fist is emitting light and he moves towards Nene to attack her. However, Naseem can tell from the expression on Nene’s face that she hasn’t given up and he even trembles from seeing it. It should be impossible for Nene to defeat Naseem since she doesn’t have the power to use “Jibakujin” nor physical strength to use “Yaksha Kagura” anymore and evading by spatial distortion would be ineffective. Naseem launches “Dead End Blow” at Nene which should turn her into dust even by a scratch. But he loses his balance the moment he launches it, which is caused by Nene turning gravity to become lighter. As Naseem’s attack becomes ruined, Nene easily slips in front of him and strikes the side of his body with her iron fan. However, she ends up coughing out black blood and then kneeling on the ground while agonizing. The energy load from Naseem’s “Excessive Awakening” was damaging Nene who was already at her limit. Naseem laughs and was expecting something from Nene’s attack just now because she was full of confidence. Nene admits with a faint smile that in her current state she can’t inflict even a scratch, but at least not on Naseem.
Immediately after, rainbow-colored light is overflowing from the spot where Nene’s Device hit and then converges back into it as if being sucked back. But not just light, Naseem’s body is also being sucked into that point with incredible strength. Naseem is panicking and tries to hit the converging point with his right arm, but it has no effect and his arm along with the rest of his body is being sucked into it. He tries to resist and asks Nene what she did while he’s shouting. Nene gets up and replies that she inflicted a scratch on the dimensional space that Naseem is on. Other than the 4 dimensions humans can recognize, there are 6 other dimensions that are normally compacted into closed state of Calabi-Yau space with very small size of 10^-31 centimeters by a special force field. If this force field is loosened by gravity interference even a little, the imprisoned dimensions would be released and turn the world inside out. But the universe can repair itself and so the expanded dimensions would eventually return to their normal small size of 10^-31 centimeters. Thus, Naseem along with everything else that are on top of those expanded dimensions would also get pulled into the small Calabi-Yau space, physically expelling him from the 4 dimensions. Nene couldn’t hurt Naseem with her own power, so she’s using a different power which is the universe’s corrective action that is induced by overturning the universe locally. Nene names this Noble Art “Kanamegaeshi (point return)”, which is a new technique she first created in years. She then says she has been in many crude battles since Kurono left, but she feels rejuvenated after desperately trying to defeat a monster like Naseem. As thanks, Nene is inviting Naseem to the other side of the universe. Most of Naseem’s body has already been pulled into the Calabi-Yau space, leaving only everything above his neck left. Nene places her iron fan on his forehead and during that moment, Naseem is feeling despair. Naseem begs Nene to stop but she puts pressure on the iron fan placed on his forehead, causing the rest of his body to disappear into the point.
“S, STOOOP!! PLEASE STOOOP!! I DON’T WANT TO GO TO SUCH PLACE!! NOOO!! AT LEAST, AT LEAST KILL ME! KILL MEEEEEEEE!!”
“Sorry, it’s not my power so there’s no way I have control anymore”
“STO-, aA, A, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!”
Everyone who is watching the live broadcast sees Nene as the victor of this battle, although those who don’t know the existence of Desperados were feeling confused and slightly afraid when they saw two Desperados in “Excessive Awakening” state fighting. However, everyone in Vermillion is feeling joy and relief after they saw Nene reverting back to her normal form and then defeated Naseem. Nene is also feeling relieved since Naseem was an opponent much stronger than Kurono was when she fought her. But Nene is convinced that Kurono would be able to repel back the technique Nene had just used because Kurono has the ability to interfere with the direct dimension of time and Nene can’t imagine Kurono would lose easily like that time during the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival. In order for Nene to spend that burning time with Kurono again, she has to make Kurono stand before her again. Nene then tries to head to the next battle but she collapses due to reaching her limit. Fortunately, the enemy side only has Or-Gaule left. His ability is not much useful in direct combat and he’s not used to direct combat much either. Nene then passes out after thinking that Or-Gaule shouldn’t be a threat to the current Stella and thus she can count on her.
Chapter 20: Memory that Can't be Casted Away
Nene’s mother was remarried to a worthless man who didn’t work and was just drinking and playing. The man would raise his voice and became violent while drunk at something he didn’t like even a little, which caused her mother always crying. Nene would get hit at any opportunity for reason of “unable to make money with her ability to make objects float in the air”, though it wouldn’t be painful for a Blazer like Nene. She and her mother would just let those days pass by until she couldn’t take it anymore. One day, they were having Nene’s favorite food for dinner but her stepfather got angry for some reason as usual. He was being violent at her mother and stepped on her favorite food that fell on the floor. At that moment, for the first in her life she became irritated and seriously hit her stepfather in the face with her fist. He died from the hit, but she felt joy instead of regret. She also discovered at the same time that gravity was her true ability. A year after, Nene’s mother disappeared after unable to endure being with her anymore since she killed her stepfather. Around that time Nene started to pick fights at school, streets and even underground fighting arenas due to being drunk in releasing the power idling within her. She would keep fighting until she crushes her enemies, makes them beg for forgiveness while crying and feels satisfied. Nene who enjoyed such violence was given the nickname “Yaksha Princess” and when she reached middle school there was no one in West Japan who wouldn’t know the name of the delinquent. During her 3rd year of middle school, she was arrested along with all fighters who were in an underground fighting arena managed by gangsters. Nene had not entered a mage-knight school yet but the incident along with her mountain list of previous offenses caused the League of Mage-Knight Nations to seriously consider revoking her qualifications to be a knight which would have been the first since Japan joined the League. However, a turning point in her degenerating life then came.
The scene then takes place in a police hospital in Kyoto. The Commissioner General of the National Police Agency named Hizaki is visiting to see Nene. He is escorted to a VIP room which is like a first-class hotel suite filled with luxurious furniture. When he enters he is shocked to see Nene relaxing on a massage chair while watching TV and getting a nail art as shown in a pic. A chief of police named Shimogamo also has brought what Nene ordered him to buy, which is a confectionery that is difficult to buy. Hizaki demands to know why the notorious problem child who is not even injured is being treated like a VIP here. If this becomes public the police will lose their authority, so Hizaki orders Shimogamo to have Nene put in a detention center immediately. However, Shimogamo won’t obey even if he is ordered by the Commissioner General. He then explains that they didn’t arrest her because it was impossible as the Kyoto Prefectural Police didn’t have the power to do so. The only thing they could do was keep Nene here and provide her with as much hospitality as possible. Hizaki then asks why they are being pathetic since there are still knights in Japan who are stronger than Nene, such as Kaieda and Kiba for example. Shimogamo replies they don’t know when those knights will arrive and Nene has the power to destroy the entire hospital area. With a pale face, he further explains that the police really didn’t do anything when they arrested the gangsters running the underground fighting arena. Nene annihilated the entire Kyoto faction of the largest gangster organization in Japan because they angered her due to money issue, and she did it in just one minute. The police only restrained them after their whole bodies shattered due to many of their bones broken. Nene then stands up and gives Shimogamo a light kiss to his cheek while pulling his necktie and demands him.
“Ojisan sure is an honest and good kid. I’m pleased. Are you free tonight?”
“N, no, I am…”
“You are free, right?”
“Y, yes…, of course”
“Okay then, I will be waiting in this room tonight”
Shimogamo complies at the terrifying eyes that refuse “no” for an answer while making a drop of sweat, and Nene makes a sadistic smile towards his obedience. She then turns her eyes on Hizaki and says in a bad mood voice that he is somehow annoying her. Suddenly, Hizaki’s body is lifted into the air and his neck is being squeezed by Nene’s gravity ability. Nene says she hates people who annoy her, especially those who only have big attitudes even though they don’t have the power to entertain her. Before she could really crush him, Hizaki’s body suddenly falls to the ground as if the gravity holding him was cut. A voice is then heard, saying that the girl called “Yaksha Princess” turns out to be far less than the monster he had imagined and is just a misbehaved child. The owner of the voice is an old man who enters the room shortly after and he introduces himself as Torajirou Nangou. He has come to offer a good proposition to Nene.
Nangou explains to Nene that if a Blazer doesn’t have a license they are not allowed to use their ability and will be monitored for the rest of their lives. So he offers Nene to be under his care and study for 3 years in Bukyoku Academy where he works as an advisor in battle techniques. If she agrees, he will negotiate with the League headquarters to make her punishment end up being temporary observation and she will obtain mage-knight license. But Nene understands that he is scouting her to participate in the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival. She then says she’s not interested in becoming a mage-knight since even without a license she would still get good treatment from Yakuza, terrorists or such. In addition, she hates school since there is no thrill there as everyone would fear her and whisper behind her back. As a result, she entered the world of underground fighting as it was more exciting for her. Nangou then asks if she’s fine with choosing a boring life such as being a disposable pawn for evil people, and thinks that she’s wasting her talent. To this provocation, Nene stands up and places her foot on the table in front of Nagou and asks if he would like to test her. Nangou comments that girls these days are scary and wonders jokingly if Nene is one of those “yanmama (young mothers)”, which Nene angrily replies that she has never given birth. Nangou then says that hurting an old man that has retired from the frontlines is nothing to boast about, but the world is much bigger than Nene thinks. At this rate, Nene will end up being second-rate at best since in Japan there is a girl of her generation who is stronger than her. Nene doesn’t believe it because all the people she fought in the Little League were very weak compared to her and so the Senior League shouldn’t have anyone strong as well. In response, Nangou proposes a bet. Nene and that girl will have a mock battle and if Nene loses she will enroll in Bukyoku while being under Nangou’s care. Nangou also says that he will allow Nene to do whatever she wants with his body if she wins. Nene replies that she will kill him, and Nangou then says that it was just a joke. He will actually do whatever she asks if she wins. Nene accepts his bet since she’s interested in this other girl and she has some time to kill.
It is now the beginning of spring and Nene has arrived at Hagun Academy in Tokyo. One of the school’s training grounds is being lent for the mock battle. Important people in suits are also there and they are discussing about Nene. One of them wonders why Nangou is planning to have the problem child Nene enrolled in Bukyoku Academy. Itsuki Kurogane replies that it’s not a bad thing since the League’s Japan branch wants her to be reformed and work as a mage-knight for the nation. Some of them is also worried that Nene will eventually tarnish the reputation of mage-knights in Japan but it will be fine as long as they are able to make her behave after she gets beaten. Nene feels irritated because the conversation she overhears is based on the assumption that she will lose this mock battle. This makes her wonder about who is the person she’s about to fight. That person finally arrives while being escorted by Bakuga Tsukikage. It is a beautiful girl with long black hair, plump breasts, slender legs and deep-colored eyes. Nene doesn’t seem to like her since she looks like a young lady that grew up in a warm home based on her beautiful hair and nails and her smooth skin. Nangou who is waiting nearby apologizes to Tsukikage since having this mock battle is so sudden and the girl is not officially a student of Hagun Academy yet. The girl says it’s fine since she doesn’t have much experience in a match and so it is good learning for her. She introduces herself as Kurono Takizawa, who will be attending Hagun Academy starting this year. Kurono offers a handshake to Nene as shown in a colored pic but Nene responds by saying she doesn’t recognize Kurono of ever been in the Little or Senior League, and so asks when Kurono first became a Blazer. Kurono answers that it was last year’s late spring and because of that she didn’t even make the registration for the Senior League in time. Nene then says she will make Kurono learn how dangerous the opponent she’s picking a fight with is. Tsukikage tells Nangou that he admires him as a fellow educator since Nangou tries to put Nene on the right path. But Nangou replies that it’s actually because he wants to raise Nene’s talent by himself and have her challenge Kurono who is expected to be the strongest student knight in the history of the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival. Tsukikage tells Kurono not push herself too much but Kurono says it will be fine because Nene is not an opponent that Kurono needs to push herself much. Kurono is a late bloomer that had just awakened her Blazer ability a year ago. However, her overwhelming ability caught the attention of the country’s important officials when it was blooming and she received high expectations. Tsukikage also thinks that Kurono will win and that Nene won’t be able to touch her. The match starts after Nene and Kurono manifest their Devices.
“Let’s bewitch them! ‘Beniiro Ageha’!”
“Shred eternity. ‘Propator’, ‘Ennoia’”
The match uses Senior League rules which have 10 counts and 3 knockdowns, and they use their Devices in illusion form. It starts by Nene about to use her iron fans to attack Kurono. However, Kurono suddenly disappears and immediately shows up behind Nene while aiming her gun on the back of Nene’s head. Kurono fires her gun and then the bullets in illusion form penetrates Nene’s skull, causing Nene to fall to the ground. Those who are watching the match comment that Kurono’s causation interference type ability to manipulate time is very powerful since Nene who also has strong ability went down so fast. Kurono was able to get behind Nene fast by using “Clock Up” to accelerate her own time. Nangou is amazed that Kurono is already accustomed to combat despite having just manifested her Device less than a year ago. Kurono’s rare ability caused her to receive special education from the League’s Japan branch and Hagun Academy ever since her ability first manifested. She is recognized as a talented super elite since the education she received was severe even for adults but she handled it without difficulty. Thus, Tsukikage is surprised to see Nene still able to stand against such opponent. Nangou explains that damages caused by illusion form are like receiving strong hypnosis so they can be endured if the person has strong mentality. But Nene is still receiving the same pain and so her consciousness is hazy. She still intends to continue the fight and finally understands why everyone is convinced Kurono will win. Kurono explains that her Noble Art “Clock Up (time increase)” can extend her own time within one second of the world’s time and currently her limit is moving up to 10 times as fast. Nene then moves towards Kurono to engage her in close combat. Kurono uses “Clock Up” to increase her speed to 10 times but Nene uses “Jibakujin” to cause Kurono to slow down from the heavy gravity. Nene then swings her Device that is filled with super gravity mass towards Kurono. However, Kurono uses “Clock Lock (time freeze)” to stop Nene’s time including the time of the space around her. While Nene’s body is frozen with a swinging down posture, Kurono moves back and then fires a total of 20 bullets at Nene. The bullets stop in the air in front of Nene since they have entered the space where time has stopped. Kurono then uses “Clock Draw” which she fires another bullet and it causes the stopped time to move again. As a result, all the bullets that had stopped in the air now have pierced Nene’s body at the same time. Nene once again collapses to the ground but she still isn’t giving up. She feels irritated by Kurono and so is determined to beat her up. Despite all the pain she has received, Nene manages to get up which surprises everyone. Kurono suggests that Nene surrenders but she refuses.
Nene then is attacking from a distance by swinging her fan which causes crescent-shaped super gravity energy flying towards Kurono while Kurono sighs at the same time. Once again the time of the space around Nene is stopped and after getting closer Kurono fires 60 bullets this time. Tsukikage can’t help but feel frightened at the sight he’s seeing. Nene is clearly stronger than even the Senior League’s current year winner and possesses power of a B-rank or higher, but Kurono is dealing with Nene easily. If the time of the space around Nene moves again, she will be hit with the barrage of bullets. However, all 60 bullets bend in unnatural trajectories and pass through the side of Nene’s body. Nene had used her gravity ability to distort the space-time of the area around her, which impresses Tsukikage. Nene immediately moves towards Kurono to attack but her whole body ends up being hit by Kurono’s bullets. The reason Nene couldn’t avoid “Clock Draw” this time was because there was no gap between her body and the bullets. Kurono narrowed down the area where time stopped to just barely the outlines of Nene’s body and so the bullets were fired at almost point blank distance. However, despite receiving dozens of fatal wounds in illusion form, Nene doesn’t go down. She says it’s still not over and that she refuses to lose to a sparkling young lady like Kurono. Nene is barely standing which indicates that she has already reached her limit. Tsukikage suggests that the match is stopped because any more than this might cause psychological trauma to Nene. However, Nangou believes that Nene is planning something judging from the expression on her face. Kurono once again uses “Clock Draw” and this time 200 bullets hit Nene. However, Kurono notices that Nene is vomiting large amount of blood which confuses Kurono because she is using her Device in illusion form.
Kurono runs towards Nene to see if she’s alright. Once Kurono is close and unprotected, Nene raises her own head and it hits Kurono’s chin. Nene then uses her iron fan that is powered with her magic to strike Kurono and this causes Kurono to fall down to the ground. However, Nene doesn’t stop even after the referee declares that Kurono is down. Nene jumps and lands on the fallen Kurono’s abdomen. While mounting on top of Kurono, Nene hits Kurono’s face with her iron fan many, many times while laughing and telling Kurono to die. The referee immediately pulls Nene away from Kurono and it is revealed that the blood Nene released from her mouth was actually due to biting her own tongue. Everyone watching is shocked with fear since Nene would go that far just to win a mock battle. While looking down on Kurono who is still down on the ground, Nene mocks her while laughing.
“KYAHAHAHAHAA! SERVES YOU RIGHT, STU-PID! SUCH A GOOD SENSATION! SAYING THINGS LIKE ‘GIVE UP’ OR ‘IT’S POINTLESS’! IT’S BECAUSE YOU ALLOWED SUCH OPENING AND LET YOUR GUARD DOWN THAT YOU’VE EXPERIENCED SUCH UNPLEASENT THING! “KYAHAHAHAHAA!”
“I see. It’s certainly like that.”
Suddenly, Kurono who is supposed to be on the ground disappears and Nene feels a blow to the back of her head. She looks towards her back but no one is there and then suddenly she feels another blow to her abdomen coming from right. While faltering Nene swings her weapon towards the enemy who is supposed to be there but once again she receives another blow from a different direction. She keeps receiving blows one after another on different parts of her body as if violence is raining on her, even though she can’t see Kurono’s figure. The technique Kurono is using right now is called “Rush Hour”, which is a combined technique that makes use of “Clock Lock” and “Clock Up” at the same time. It causes the time difference between both sides becoming much wider and thus Nene is being continuously shot, hit with the butt of Kurono’s gun and kicked from all directions while unable to deal with it. This event occurs in the world for a short time but Nene can experience this even for hours. Suddenly, Kurono pulls up Nene’s hair to prevent the fall of Nene, who looks like she’s about to lose consciousness, and puts her gun into Nene’s mouth as shown in a pic. She then says she realizes that there are people who would take advantage of those who think of defeating their opponent without hurting them and so she has to cast away her sympathy towards her opponent while challenging them in a serious fight. Kurono, with a face that shows anger and recognizing the opponent in front of her as her enemy, thanks Nene for the lesson and then tells her to die. After Kurono pulls the trigger of her gun, Nene’s body then stops moving. With an expression of disgust on her face, Kurono let goes of Nene’s hair which causes Nene to fall to the ground for the third time and Kurono being declared as the winner of the match.
Nene later wakes up in a medical room half a day later, and realizes that she lost in her match against Kurono. She then overhears Nangou and Tsukikage talking outside the room. They talk about how Nene never gave up and was able to touch Kurono despite the latter having such an overwhelming ability. Tsukikage says Nene is more amazing than he thought and he’s counting on Nangou since he is the only teacher in Japan who can handle her. After Tsukikage leaves, Nangou enters Nene’s room and finds her awake. He mentions about Nene losing miserably despite her opponent lacked much experience, which causes Nene to be angry. She throws random things nearby at him, but he catches all of them from being agile despite his old age. Nene is obviously irritated, angry, frustrated and envious after having been defeated by Kurono so easily despite all the effort Nene made. However, Nangou also asks Nene if the match was fun, which Nene doesn’t deny. Nangou says that giving everything you have in order to make the opponent that irritates you to do what you want and overturn impossible things is very fun. He said it with a scary enjoyable expression that causes Nene tremble. She asks if that’s the kind of face an educator should make and Nangou replies in his usual happy tone that he and Nene are both perverse after all. Nangou then asks Nene if she wants to work with him so that she can have an extremely enjoyable fight with the undefeated and talented Kurono. Nene accepts and swears that she will be the one looking down on her enemy instead.
In the present time, Nene is remembering what happened after she decided to train under Nangou. Nene had worked hard by undergoing harsh special training in order to become much stronger and to return the humiliation she received back to Kurono. However, that day never came because Kurono chose to live as a woman and a mother over settling things with Nene. Nene then thinks that it’s fine since everything she forged in order to defeat Kurono can be used on the opponent currently in front of her instead and it should be fun. She mutters that being convinced of that should put her at ease. However, Nene who had been on top of Naseem and hitting him suddenly stops attacking and gets off of him. Naseem is confused because Nene could have finished him off but she didn’t. Nene says she can’t fight seriously when he is her opponent because he doesn’t irritate her. Naseem is like Nene before she met Kurono. The person Nene wants to fight with everything she’s got has always been Kurono, not someone boring like Naseem. Kurono’s appearance and way of life from when Nene first met her caused Nene to be irritated and admired of Kurono. It’s because she admired her that she wanted to defeat her. Nene then thanks Naseem because it’s thanks to him that she has realized that she can’t let go of her admiration. If she can’t settle things with Kurono, then all she has to do is make Kurono admiring her this time. Immediately after, Nene’s horns and black right arm break apart and her eyes return to normal. Nene returns back to her usual form because her form during “Excessive Awakening” is not something she should show Kurono, even if it means reducing her fighting power. As shown in a pic, she manifests again her Device, which is the embodiment of her soul that was once broken, and holds it in her remaining left hand in order to challenge Naseem again.
Naseem gets up and says it was foolish of Nene to let go of the power that could have defeated him. Nene’s “Jibakujin” that was holding Naseem down to the ground has become weakened now that Nene is no longer in “Excessive Awakening” state. Naseem now is able to reconstruct his body with his ability to turn his body into dust. It was the first time that Naseem became terrified during battle when he couldn’t do anything and was close to death. But he doesn’t have to worry anymore now that Nene is back in her human form. His right fist is emitting light and he moves towards Nene to attack her. However, Naseem can tell from the expression on Nene’s face that she hasn’t given up and he even trembles from seeing it. It should be impossible for Nene to defeat Naseem since she doesn’t have the power to use “Jibakujin” nor physical strength to use “Yaksha Kagura” anymore and evading by spatial distortion would be ineffective. Naseem launches “Dead End Blow” at Nene which should turn her into dust even by a scratch. But he loses his balance the moment he launches it, which is caused by Nene turning gravity to become lighter. As Naseem’s attack becomes ruined, Nene easily slips in front of him and strikes the side of his body with her iron fan. However, she ends up coughing out black blood and then kneeling on the ground while agonizing. The energy load from Naseem’s “Excessive Awakening” was damaging Nene who was already at her limit. Naseem laughs and was expecting something from Nene’s attack just now because she was full of confidence. Nene admits with a faint smile that in her current state she can’t inflict even a scratch, but at least not on Naseem.
Immediately after, rainbow-colored light is overflowing from the spot where Nene’s Device hit and then converges back into it as if being sucked back. But not just light, Naseem’s body is also being sucked into that point with incredible strength. Naseem is panicking and tries to hit the converging point with his right arm, but it has no effect and his arm along with the rest of his body is being sucked into it. He tries to resist and asks Nene what she did while he’s shouting. Nene gets up and replies that she inflicted a scratch on the dimensional space that Naseem is on. Other than the 4 dimensions humans can recognize, there are 6 other dimensions that are normally compacted into closed state of Calabi-Yau space with very small size of 10^-31 centimeters by a special force field. If this force field is loosened by gravity interference even a little, the imprisoned dimensions would be released and turn the world inside out. But the universe can repair itself and so the expanded dimensions would eventually return to their normal small size of 10^-31 centimeters. Thus, Naseem along with everything else that are on top of those expanded dimensions would also get pulled into the small Calabi-Yau space, physically expelling him from the 4 dimensions. Nene couldn’t hurt Naseem with her own power, so she’s using a different power which is the universe’s corrective action that is induced by overturning the universe locally. Nene names this Noble Art “Kanamegaeshi (point return)”, which is a new technique she first created in years. She then says she has been in many crude battles since Kurono left, but she feels rejuvenated after desperately trying to defeat a monster like Naseem. As thanks, Nene is inviting Naseem to the other side of the universe. Most of Naseem’s body has already been pulled into the Calabi-Yau space, leaving only everything above his neck left. Nene places her iron fan on his forehead and during that moment, Naseem is feeling despair. Naseem begs Nene to stop but she puts pressure on the iron fan placed on his forehead, causing the rest of his body to disappear into the point.
“S, STOOOP!! PLEASE STOOOP!! I DON’T WANT TO GO TO SUCH PLACE!! NOOO!! AT LEAST, AT LEAST KILL ME! KILL MEEEEEEEE!!”
“Sorry, it’s not my power so there’s no way I have control anymore”
“STO-, aA, A, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!”
Everyone who is watching the live broadcast sees Nene as the victor of this battle, although those who don’t know the existence of Desperados were feeling confused and slightly afraid when they saw two Desperados in “Excessive Awakening” state fighting. However, everyone in Vermillion is feeling joy and relief after they saw Nene reverting back to her normal form and then defeated Naseem. Nene is also feeling relieved since Naseem was an opponent much stronger than Kurono was when she fought her. But Nene is convinced that Kurono would be able to repel back the technique Nene had just used because Kurono has the ability to interfere with the direct dimension of time and Nene can’t imagine Kurono would lose easily like that time during the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival. In order for Nene to spend that burning time with Kurono again, she has to make Kurono stand before her again. Nene then tries to head to the next battle but she collapses due to reaching her limit. Fortunately, the enemy side only has Or-Gaule left. His ability is not much useful in direct combat and he’s not used to direct combat much either. Nene then passes out after thinking that Or-Gaule shouldn’t be a threat to the current Stella and thus she can count on her.
