Why was Kaiser so interested in Irene Urzaiz?
He knew that the reason she was participating in this year’s Phoenix Festa was very likely because of him.
In the original story, this woman had been sent to deal with Ayato Amagiri because of Ser-Veresta.
Now, Ser-Veresta was in his hands.
And yet—Irene was still here, still competing in this year’s Phoenix Festa.
She had likely been sent to take him out.
Kaiser had wanted to verify this suspicion.
That was why he had been closely observing Irene—why he had come all this way to watch her match in person.
With just a single sentence, Irene had essentially confirmed his theory.
"So it’s true—she entered the Phoenix Festa specifically to deal with me."
With this realization, Kaiser’s golden eyes turned cold.
He wasn’t the kind of protagonist who would take this lightly.
"Take me down?" Kaiser spoke calmly. "With just you?"
The red glow in Irene’s eyes flared even brighter.
Her smile turned even more savage.
"With Gravisheath in my hands!"
The moment she declared this—
The purple Urm-Manadyte embedded in Gravisheath suddenly glowed ominously.
A deep, resonating pressure erupted in the air.
It was as if an invisible mountain had descended from the heavens, crushing the space around them.
A violet aura enveloped Kaiser, and in that instant—his entire body felt unbearably heavy.
He nearly buckled under the weight.
Kaiser’s expression shifted.
It was as if an unseen force was pressing down on him, suffocating him beneath an overwhelming pressure.
The ability to manipulate gravity—this was the true power of Gravisheath.
Among the many Orga Lux that had appeared in past Festas, Gravisheath was famous for two reasons.
First—its sheer power.
It allowed its wielder to freely manipulate gravity within a designated area, adjusting its direction and magnitude at will.
If gravity was drastically increased, even the superhuman Genestella would find it difficult to move.
Kaiser was experiencing this power firsthand.
With Kaiser pinned down by Gravisheath’s gravity field, Irene raised her massive crimson scythe high above her head.
Her voice, low and deep, carried the chilling finality of a death sentence.
She was about to bring the blade down.
Priscilla’s panicked scream filled the corridor.
Kirin had already drawn her sword, rushing toward Irene in an instant.
And at that exact moment—
A blinding explosion of Prana erupted.
Kaiser’s entire body ignited with a torrent of surging star energy.
The force was overwhelming, filling the entire hallway with a cascade of glowing stardust.
All of his Prana channeled into Ser-Veresta.
The black engravings on its blade lit up like flowing lava, spiraling toward the red Urm-Manadyte at its core.
Ser-Veresta shuddered violently.
The heat radiating from its blade escalated to an extreme—its pure white glow darkening into a deep violet, then shifting entirely to black.
Ser-Veresta was unleashed at its fullest.
Its output surged to maximum capacity.
With a furious roar, Kaiser swung his sword.
The violet aura trapping him shattered instantly—as if ripped apart like paper.
The glow in Irene’s eyes flared even brighter in shock.
But Kaiser didn’t stop.
The moment he felt the pressure vanish, he gripped his sword with both hands and swung again—this time, directly at Irene.
The bloodlust vanished from Irene’s expression.
As if snapping out of a trance, she clicked her tongue in annoyance and raised Gravisheath to block.
The blackened blade of Ser-Veresta met the crimson scythe of Gravisheath.
No metallic clash rang out.
It was like cutting through flesh.
Ser-Veresta cut straight through the blade of Gravisheath.
As if screaming in agony, the Urm-Manadyte embedded in Gravisheath let out a high-pitched, piercing wail.
The crimson blade of the scythe exploded.
It disintegrated into pure Mana, bursting apart in a shockwave that sent both combatants flying.
Without hesitation, Kirin lunged forward, arms outstretched.
She caught Kaiser mid-air, cushioning his landing.
Priscilla, however, was not so lucky.
Completely unprepared, she was knocked over as Irene crashed into her.
Even with shock still lingering on her face, Irene’s red eyes returned to normal as she saw her sister fall.
All of her aggression vanished.
She immediately rushed to Priscilla’s side.
"Senpai! Are you okay?!"
Meanwhile, Kirin held Kaiser tightly, anxiously checking for injuries.
Kaiser shook his head, pushing himself out of Kirin’s arms before turning his gaze forward.
"Priscilla! Are you okay?! Don’t scare me!"
Irene frantically lifted her dazed sister, her voice trembling with worry.
Priscilla, clutching her head, looked completely disoriented—as if she had taken a hard hit and couldn’t focus.
She wasn’t in any real danger, but she was in pain.
Irene finally turned her gaze back to Kaiser.
Her expression was a mix of anger and disbelief.
"You actually... cut through my gravity... and broke Gravisheath’s blade?!"
Since obtaining Gravisheath, she had relied on its overwhelming power to dominate her opponents.
She had never encountered anyone who could so easily overpower it—much less slice through it in a single exchange.
A clean cut through an Orga Lux.
How absurdly powerful was this man?
"Why are you so surprised?"
Meeting Irene’s shaken gaze, Kaiser’s lips curled slightly—a hint of mockery in his voice.
"Isn’t this exactly why you were sent after me?"
Irene’s expression flickered.
She remembered what she had been told before coming here.
"That sword is too dangerous. If we let him continue wielding it, he’ll become a problem for me in the future. Go take care of him."
The scowling face of that fat bastard flashed through her mind.
And for the first time—
Irene’s eyes shifted toward Ser-Veresta.
"So this... is the power that man was so afraid of?"
The legendary Four-Colored Magic Sword.
A blade that could burn through anything.
Before, she had assumed it was exaggerated.
If this thing could slice through an Orga Lux as if it were paper, then perhaps the rumors weren’t so far from the truth.
"That bastard... sent me to fight against this?!"
It felt like she had been sent to her death.
"I’ll remember this, Blazing Star Swordsman."
Irene held her dazed sister close, her gaze burning with determination.
"Don’t think for a second that this is over."
Leaving those final words, she turned and walked away.
Kaiser didn’t stop her.
Instead, he simply watched her retreating figure.
And with a quiet smirk, he murmured—
"If you were sent here for me... you’d better be prepared for heavy losses."