Chivalry of a Dark Knight [Batman x Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry]

CH11: Dark Knight's Debut (prt 3)

Nene's outburst was heard through the speakers by the present spectators, particularly Stella.

"Not taking it seriously? What does she mean?" she asked.

Nagi sighed as realization dawned on him.

"I think I'm beginning to understand what's going on: Brucie is using the match as an opportunity to train himself."

The red-haired princess turned to him in surprise.

"What!? But why would he do something like that?"

It was Ikki who responded with a grim tone.

"Because he thinks if he puts himself in a dangerous combat situation, his control over his Mana would improve."

"Indeed." Nagi nodded. "Sometimes regular training isn't enough to make a Blazer stronger. Similar to how adrenaline improves performance, a state of danger can force a Blazer to be more in sync with his Mana."

"But at this rate, what he's doing is completely pointless." Shizuku stated with a frown.

Ikki's fists tightened to the point where his knuckles turned white as his eyes were fiercely fixed towards the ring.

"Dammit! He's going about it the wrong way! Come on Bruce, don't you see that you can still win!?"

Bruce leaped back away from Saijou's slashes, trying to put some distance between them. When he felt he was far enough, he released another spinning blade at him but this time the projectile's trajectory made Bruce's eyes widen in alarm; it was heading straight for the students in the stands!

The spectators who noticed the approaching blade began to yelp and scream in fright and scramble to get out of their seats but in an impressive display, Saijou jumped high in the air with his Zanbatou held above him before chopping the projectile in mid-air.

The Saijou-fans cheered as he landed and Bruce breathed a sigh of relief that nobody was hurt but Saijou's expression turned enraged.

"So this was your tactic all along!" Saijou rounded on him. "Trying to catch me off guard by attacking the audience. I shouldn't be surprised that Union scum like you would stoop that low!"

"That wasn't intentional." Bruce responded with a frown.

"Don't play dumb! You people from the Union, especially Americans are all the same! You're opportunists who use deception to get what you want, nothing like us Knights!"

Bruce narrowed his eyes. The boy's attitude was already getting on his nerves and his patience was being stretched to its limit.

"What are you going on about?"

"The US has the strongest offensive capability in the world and yet all they do is blame the League for failing to take out Rebellion. They keep putting pressure on us but we all know that they're just looking for an excuse to invade our shores!"

Saijou seemed oblivious to the noisy murmurings in the audience caused by his outburst and in his heated state, continued his ranting.

"My family knows this better than anyone! My great grandfather served in the war as a medical officer. During its final years, he found a wounded US soldier trapped in our territory. Even though they were supposed to be enemies, he helped him and healed him. But all he got for it was being stabbed in the back!"

In the VIP room, Renren grimaced uncomfortably.

During their visit to the Saijou residence, it was apparent to the rest of the Student Council that Ikazuchi's grandparents carried a deep resentment of Americans because of what happened to their father and that resentment had passed on to their grandson.