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At the same time, in another player area, Ferguson was sitting alone on a long row of chairs.
Wearing the uniform of a junior high school student, with a real sword in a scabbard hanging from her waist, Ferguson quietly waited for her turn while looking at the window that opened in front of her.
What appeared above was a person's information, and it was extremely detailed. All the performance records, grades, ability changes, and even small things such as eating habits were clearly recorded. There was nothing missing from the information displayed.
This was naturally the intelligence information prepared by Ferguson's uncle, Lee. Ferguson had read and studied it many times, and the content was completely memorized in her mind.
But every time she studied and reread it, Ferguson felt a little amazed.
"Obviously, he was ordinary more than a month ago, but after becoming a user of the Black Furnace Demonic Sword, Senior Erend has become completely different from before…"
Judging from the information collected by Lee, the changes in Erend since he obtained the Black Furnace Demonic Sword could only be described as a rebirth.
The last time he played against the old ranked 13th, David, Erend's performance was already surprising. According to the information collected, his strength seemed to not be limited to that degree.
Although, after the last ranking battle, Erend had not fought with anyone, some people claimed to have seen him training in the morning and observed that he showed far better performance than during the last ranking match. His running speed and sword dance could be called miraculous.
Lee had used his own ability to gather this intelligence and handed it to Ferguson. She had been amazed more than once by what she read.
"…I'm a little bit looking forward to it."
Ferguson unconsciously revealed such thoughts, which surprised her.
In her imagination, when facing this challenge, she should have felt more complicated and weighed down.
But when she actually came here, when she arrived at this moment, her first thought wasn't nervousness or burden, but anticipation.
Ferguson knew what this meant.
"Compared to those complicated matters, I would rather have an upright showdown with Senior Erend…?"
After all, she was a swordsman.
And as a swordsman, it was impossible not to be inspired by a powerful opponent.
Realizing that she still had a fighting heart and a longing for a powerful opponent, Ferguson couldn't help but smile.
"Invite both sides of the next duel to enter."
At this time, the announcement outside the contestant area rang, causing the school badge worn by Ferguson to light up slightly.
Except for Ferguson, there was no one else in the player area, proving that all other duels had ended.
Now, it was her turn.
"…Alright!"
Ferguson patted her cheek and stood up.
The sword at her waist swayed slightly and made a sound of a crash, as if it too was looking forward to the upcoming battle.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh-!"
On the largest stage of the comprehensive arena, the audience, who had watched all the previous duels, cheered in unison, raising the atmosphere to the highest level.
The final battle was about to begin, and both duelists had already walked out of the contestant tunnel, making the audience unable to contain their excitement.
"It's finally starting."
In the first-class seats, Butler and others all sat up straight, watching the man and woman slowly walking toward each other on the field with serious expressions.
On the other hand, Erend and Ferguson both had smiles on their faces for some unknown reason.
After a while, the two arrived at the center of the stage, standing opposite each other at a distance.
Looking at the petite girl in front of him, Erend narrowed his eyes, as if he had noticed something.
"It seems that you're in good condition, Ferguson."
Erend said this with a smile.
"Yes, I'm surprised too." Ferguson had a quiet smile that she didn't usually show. In an unexpectedly calm mood, she said, "Originally, I had a lot of things to say to you, senior, and many questions to ask. But when I stood here, I realized that those things didn't seem very important."
"This just shows how qualified a swordsman you are, doesn't it?" Erend looked directly at her and said, "Even though you say that you're useless, standing here like this already proves how great you are."
"…I probably only have this advantage. Apart from holding a sword, I can't do anything else."
Ferguson was silent for a while, then straightened up, looked at Erend, and said, "So, I will find the answer I want in this duel, and understand your true intentions through the sword."
"Don't trouble yourself." Erend shook his head. "When this duel is over, I'll tell you what I want to do."
"Okay." Ferguson nodded vigorously, her voice growing stronger. "Then I ask you for your guidance, senior."
Saying that, Ferguson slowly pulled out the sword from her waist.
The blade rubbed against the scabbard, making a sound of a crash, and Ferguson fully unsheathed it.
"The sword is two feet, three inches, and four minutes long. This is Inoue Shinkai's famous sword. The name of the sword is 'Senha-kiri.'"
Ferguson held the sword in both hands and took a mid-section stance, pointing the tip at Erend.
"Please advise."
At this moment, the atmosphere around Ferguson changed.
Her originally delicate temperament became cold and sharp, as if she had been possessed by a Valkyrie. Her presence alone sent a chill down everyone's spine.
The girl named Ferguson disappeared, and in her place stood the female swordsman known as Quick Wind Blade Thunder, the strongest in this academy, currently ranked number one.
This was the real Ferguson.
"Emima!"
A bright red light bloomed from the pitch-black engine body, making the red omnipotent crystal particularly dazzling on the stage.
A large amount of omnipotent elements gathered, releasing astonishing heat, condensing into a pure white energy sword extending from the activating body inlaid with omnipotent crystals.
"Emima!"
Erend swung his sword in a smooth, natural movement, pointing the tip diagonally toward the ground.
"One of the four-color magic swords, a heavy-colored weapon—Black Furnace Demon Sword."
Erend raised the magic sword and pointed it at Ferguson.
"Please advise."
After Erend finished speaking, the cheers from the audience suddenly became louder.
In the first-class seat, Butler was gripping the hilt of his sword tightly.
It was trembling.
"This is…?!"
Butler was a little surprised.
"Ah." Claudia saw this and smiled. "It seems that the connection between the magic sword and the magic sword is deeper than we imagined."
"Feeling the power of the Black Furnace Demonic Sword, is this child also getting excited?"
Hearing this, Butler calmed down and, while pressing the sword at his waist, looked more intently at the two people on the stage.
"It's about to begin."
Jenni Ortega spoke at just the right moment.
The school badges on the chests of the two duelists glowed red at the same time.
"Livermorny Academy, the final battle of the ranking match, Erend vs. Ferguson."
"Duel—begin!"
The mechanical voice announced from the glowing school badge, and the names of Erend and Ferguson appeared on the space screen above the stage.
The names rotated and bounced to both sides, covering both duelists.
"Dang!"
A loud prompt sounded.
"Emima—"
Ferguson, holding Morphy, immediately had stardust flying around her body, causing the star power within her to surge.
"I'm coming, senior!"
Ferguson declared loudly.
"Bring it on."
Erend showed a fearless expression.
Then, almost in the blink of an eye, Ferguson rushed toward Erend at an incredible speed.
Her speed—was unbelievably fast!
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