Inside the Land of Death stood the fortress of the Death King, Isis. Two figures walked side by side through one of the castle's halls. One was the tall, insectoid warrior Sirius, the Heavenly Blade Star of the Mutsuraboshi. Beside her walked her fellow member Vulpecula, the Enchanting Fox Star, whose small stature was marked by ten distinctive white tails.
The two were on their way back from a light training session.
"And so, I have made my decision," Sirius declared. "I shall hone my skills and challenge that swordsman to a duel once more!"
"I’ve already heard that story tens of thousands of times," Vulpecula replied with a sigh. "Still, it is strange. Even though this person is such a master, there isn't so much as a whisper of a rumor about them anywhere."
"As Isis-sama speculated, perhaps they are honing their skills in another world."
"Or maybe you’re just misunderstanding something fundamental?"
Every member of the Death King’s faction knew the story of how Sirius was training to defeat the swordsman who had once bested her. To say they were tired of hearing it would be an understatement; it had been repeated so often that the words had long since lost all meaning to them.
Vulpecula wore an exasperated expression that clearly said, Here she goes again, but she couldn't help but feel that they were overlooking something. How could a mysterious warrior of such caliber remain so completely invisible?
The members of the Death King’s faction took Sirius at her word, proceeding on the assumption that this mysterious swordsman actually existed. Vulpecula was no exception.
"The only clues you have are that they’re an insectoid-type like you and they use a style called the Transcendent Flying Snake Style, right?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"Hmm. Insectoid-types have such distinct features that I don't think you'd mistake them for another species. In that case, is it possible you misheard the name of the style?"
"Hmph. I see. That is an interesting perspective. But would it even result in anything meaningful if the intonation were slightly different?"
Sirius admitted the point was interesting but voiced her doubts.
"Let’s see... Transcendent Flying Snake Style... Transcendent Flying Snake Style... Transcendent Beautiful Girl Style? How about that?"
"Hahaha! That is certainly amusing. However, surely no one would give a martial art such a blatantly idiotic name."
"Well, you’re probably right. It does have a nice ring to it, though—wait, what?"
As Vulpecula stood alone in the corridor, Polaris the Northernmost Star happened to pass by. She stopped, tilting her head with an indescribable expression.
"Vulpecula. For what reason has such a tasteless installation—a lower body jutting out of a wall—been added to our beloved fortress?"
"A cat kigurumi suddenly flew in, delivered a Tetsuzankou at a speed I could barely track, struck a pose, and vanished. This was the result."
"...Did Sirius commit some sort of blunder in front of Phantasm King-sama?"
"N-No, that’s the thing—I don't know. We were just talking normally..."
Though bewildered, Vulpecula explained the conversation she had been having with Sirius to Polaris.
"...So, I suggested the name might actually be the Transcendent Beautiful Girl Style, and when Sirius laughed it off, Sirius herself got blown away."
"I see. It is certainly difficult to comprehend. However, calling a style the Transcendent Beautiful Girl Style is quite ridic—"
Polaris started to finish the sentence but cut herself off instantly. She stared into the void for a moment, her face turning slightly pale.
"No," Polaris said, her voice suddenly formal. "I think that is a truly magnificent name. It has a wonderful ring to it. I can practically feel it glowing."
"...What kind of 'future' did you just see?"
"...A future where a second tasteless installation is added to this wall, I suspect."
Polaris possessed a limited form of future prediction, allowing her to glimpse the consequences of her own actions under certain conditions. The vision she had just seen was of herself stuck in the wall alongside Sirius.
"Which means making fun of the Transcendent Beautiful Girl Style is off-limits... No, maybe it's the phrase 'Transcendent Beautiful Girl' specifically? Alice-sama does call herself that quite often."
"Yes, that seems likely. If we assume Sirius was punished because she appeared to be mocking that title, everything falls into place."
"Right. Well, I suppose I’ll go ahead and pull Sirius out now."
Having reached a conclusion, the two began extracting Sirius from the stone. During the effort, Vulpecula—struck by a sudden thought—muttered a realization in a voice so quiet that even Polaris couldn't hear.
"Wait... could the swordsman Sirius is looking for actually be Alice-sama? No, but if that were the case, there would be no reason for her to transform into an insectoid demon to face Sirius. I guess I'm overthinking it..."
Vulpecula was a genius when it came to intuitive leaps, occasionally hitting upon the truth by pure instinct. However, even her brilliant mind couldn't fathom the reality: that Alice had simply happened to forge a masterpiece of a blade, put on a costume to play the part of a cool warrior, and was messing around when Sirius had coincidentally stumbled upon her.