A/N Thanks for the support! Although this story is called "The True Sword God", I won't focus a lot of fight scenes since I'm quite bad at it. If I had any improvements, I'd add more of those. But right now, I plan to include romance and several fight scenes. So without further ado, Let's start the new chapter.

P.S Ok I drafted this chapter like one month ago, but I had nearly no idea what I had in mind. So sorry guys, the quality might drop, but I'll try to continue what I had planned before.

(Ikki's POV)

It has been a year for me. A long, long year. And now, my training has been completed. In this year, I had successfully surpassed Edelweiss, and I have perfected my techniques. Although I think this is enough to protect Stella, I don't think I will be able to protect the whole Kingdom. But anyway, I'm thrilled to see Stella again!

Well, I did come back earlier than expected. I said I'll be back on June 24th, but right now it's June 21st as I wanted to surprise Stella. In that case, I'm going to surprise her when she is attending lessons.

I haven't contacted her for a long time, so I am surprised to see how much she had changed.

I am back to Hagun Academy, the place where Stella and I met. I went back to my room (BTW I lived in the same room with her), and stood in front of the door. I can see that my surname "Kurogane" is still there, and right next is "Vermillion", which is Stella's surname. I am delighted that the school didn't erase it, even though I'm absent for the whole year.

I got my keys out and unlocked the door. What I just saw shocked me a lot.

The whole room is messy. On her bed, there was a lot of stuff, including her clothes, underwears, bag, and much more. I guess no one tidies up those things for her since I'm not here.

I placed my bag and washed my face. When I saw myself in the mirror, I began to notice that I'm certainly more grown-up. I have quite a lot of scars and my faces, and I'm inevitably taller. And also, I'm much more muscular, so I still hope Stella will recognize me.

Since I already contacted the principal, my homeroom teacher will introduce me. As I am the same class as Stella's, she will know of my return.

I quietly went to the main school building. Nothing had changed so far, except the trees. They are taller, and should I say, "Older.". I looked around, and I saw a board which listed the former Seven Stars Sword King from Hagun Academy.

"62nd Seven Stars Sword King, Ikki Kurogane."

Yeah, I indeed won the Seven Stars Sword Festival, and I knew that was a former name. However, did Stella won the recent festival?

"63rd Seven Stars Sword King, Stella Vermillion."

That was expected. My fiance cannot lose to anyone except me. Hehe.

Checking the time, I'm about to see meet my new classmates and Stella, so it should be time for me to go to the classroom.

I'm assigned to Class 2-A, so I'm going to the second floor, and I need to walk past all other classes to reach my classroom.

Surprisingly, when I am walking, I heard some weird comments :

"Is that the former Seven Stars Sword King?"

"Yeah I think so, but he is much more muscular now!"

"The only one who can rival Stella-sama!"

"What is he doing for the whole year?"

"I hope Stella-sama will get better now..."

The last comment made me wonder what happened. "I hope Stella-sama will get better"? What happened to her when I'm not here? Since she won the Seven Sword Art Festival, I think she had no regrets, or...

"If this guy knows what happened, he will kill all of the boys who coasdas with Stella-san..." I couldn't hear the keyword since they were whispering. While I was wondering, I already arrived outside the classroom. The homeroom teacher said something and told me to come in.

I fixed my tie, and I walked in with a slight trace of nervousness.

"Everyone, let me reintroduce this student. He is the former Seven Stars Sword King, and a Rank A blazer. Ikki-kun, please introduce yourself."

The homeroom teacher said.

I tried to find Stella, but I found her sleeping again.

Oh my god her habits are still there, aren't they?

"My name is Ikki Kurogane. Everyone, I'm pleased to see you again!"

I don't expect to have any cheering from my classmates, but everyone is dead silence. However, all of them turned to see Stella.

Stella is still sleeping like a lazy cat. I'm glad to see she is sleeping that peacefully, like always. However, I'm still worried about what the other guys just said - her mental condition is not good.

I looked at the teacher, and she is showing an anxious face. That's how I began to understand that Stella is not in good condition.

I walked towards Stella's seat, and by my sixth sense, I know that everyone is staring at me, as they are observing my actions. I held Stella's hand to show comfort, but she is not moving an inch. Geez, Stella, you had become lazier now, since I'm not there to take care of you.

I moved my head next to Stella's right ear, and whisper:

"Hey, Stella, I'm back."

I didn't realize that I had separated with Stella that long until I said those words. A total year without any communication whatsoever, It is understandable that Stella might lose her feelings for me and do not wish to marry me anymore. However, our love is connected with a strong bond, and I missed Stella more and more as time went by. And now, I'm here, reunited with my lover. Although my face doesn't show it, I'm quite nervous.

I don't know if my words contained any magic, but she moved a bit. She raised her head and opened her eyes shortly.

Her eyes are hollow, and she was crying.

"Is that you... Ikki?"

Yes, the voice that I loved. Although she looked a bit more mature, she is still the same Stella that I cherished so much.

I moved my hand and held her cheeks. Ah... It's the same warmth that I treasured so much.

"Yes, Stella, I'm back."

She slapped me in the face, and I can tell it is a weak slap, but full of emotions. I feel that Stella gave me the message of "I missed you so much, Baka!"

"I suffered for so long... please end my suffering... Ikki... Help me..."

I patted her head and gave her the brightest smile that I can make. I hope that she is alright, although it isn't.

I turned to the teacher, and I said,

"Teacher, I'll have to go around a bit with Stella. We will probably skip the first three lessons, so I want you to permit me to do so."

"Sure, just tell me if Stella is ok or not."

Damn, it seems like my position as the former Sword King is fading, but I don't care anyway. Now, I have to ask what Stella had been doing this year.

However, I had to show my gratitude to all of my classmates who took care of Stella when I'm not here

I held Stella's hand tightly and cleared my throat.

"Thank you all for taking care of her. But can you tell me what happened to Stella this year? I feel like she is not herself."

Everyone was shocked as like they were struck by lightning. Why?

"Um... Ikki-san..."

"The situation is kinda complicated... but we will try to explain it as simple as possible."

I was now walking with Stella but with a complicated mind.

Just before, They were scared to tell me, and they were shaking a lot. Stella pulled me away and left the classroom forcefully. She brought me to our room and locked the door. She sat down and told me that when I'm gone, Stella was okay at first. She was still a happy and optimistic girl as she had been. However, since I was gone, more and more boys came and tried to confess to her. As expected, she rejected all of them. The situation had gotten worse as she had to deal with new and repeated confessions from the boys. She started to get disgusted more and more, and she accidentally leaked a massive surge of power which destroyed a part of the school. Although there were no casualties, she was under surveillance for about four months. When the supervision was finished, she looked like a zombie, and she beat all competitors in the festival cruelly.

After that, everyone in the school didn't even talk to her except Shizuku and Alice. All of them feared her power and never spoke to her; that was the time when she closed herself in her room and underwent depression.

When she was attending lessons, she would do nothing but sleep or cry. I can understand that she was scared by anything that will happen.

I hugged her tightly, and we didn't do anything for a little while, and I suggested to have a walk with a slight nod from Stella.

Although there is something weird- when she was crying, somehow my heart resonates with her emotions, and I am annoyed without any reasons.

["That was because you are heartbroken."]

The dragon-sama told me the answer, and indeed I'm heartbroken of how Stella acted.

["I had been trying to suppress your inner rage. If I haven't, you will probably kill all the boys now."]

Oh, so that's what they meant.

We are now in the school's stadium, which I had my first fight with Stella. It has been a year...

I stopped walking, but Stella let go of my hand and wandered.

As I looked at her, each step, she was leaking more and more aura.

She finally stopped, and she turned to me.

"Laevateinn!"

She shouted, and the same sword which used to fight me appeared once again.

Wait, what happened?

"Ikki, I'm sorry to say this, but I need to fight you now!"

A/N Okay since I'm not sure when I can post another chapter, I'm going to make this a Part One now. I had competitions after exams, and I'm not sure if I can post the chapters on time. However, I'll get the next chapter done before Mid July so please wait until then!