Chapter 243

While it still bothered me, it was time to head out to the arena. The competitors who had gone ahead must have already appeared in front of the crowds, as I could hear explosive cheering.

“I’m getting nervous…”

“Do not be. Be proud, Asagi.”

“Sure…”

I took in a deep breath and then exhaled. And then I raised my face and walked out of the door.

I had never been surrounded by the sounds of a roaring crowd like this before.

For a second, I wanted to shrink back. It was overwhelming and I felt stunned.

“Woah…”

“They are excited. You should wave.”

Daniela said as she raised her hand. She was quite calm. Also, there were suddenly many more female voices among the roaring.

Nice. Maybe I’d give it a shot. I looked towards them and waved my hand. It was incomprehensible, but the shouting voices became notably lower. I didn’t understand.

And it was among such cheers and cries that we got up on the stage. I looked around again. The circular arena. The endless rows of people surrounding us. It was immense…

As commanded, we all stood in a line on the stage. The crowds then settled down as they wondered what would happen next. All eyes were directed at a single point. It was a platform that was raised higher than the other seats. It was tightly surrounded by military men.

There was an entrance behind it and a man came walking out. While he looked elderly, he was tall and stood strong and straight. It was the Emperor.

He scanned his people before raising both of his hands into the air.

“And now, let the main battle of the Imperial Sword Tournament begin!! The prize for the victor will be great!! And so I expect you to fight hard and bold!!”

His voice boomed throughout the arena. The crowd’s reaction was intense and it was clear that this Emperor was loved by his people.

“Long live the Emperor!”

“Lord Veldrid!!”

The voices rang. Emperor Veldrid. Both his name and appearance suggested strength.

Once he made this announcement, the Emperor took his seat. There were a few others who sat near him, most likely important officials of the empire.

After that, several of the staff came out and handed us something. It was a bracelet. Everyone received one. And so I accepted mine.

“These are magic decoy devices. We do not want any accidents, so make sure to put them on.”

I see. It was a simple silver bracelet that was a centimeter wide. However, it was filled with engravings on the inner side.

“The one that I had was a necklace.”

“Right…”

So there were different kinds. As I looked at the thing, the announcer’s voice boomed.

“And now we will explain the rules of the game. Requirements for victory include evicting your opponent from the boundary, making them surrender or fall unconscious. In rare cases, the referee may pull them out as well. The match will also end the moment that the decoy bracelet is broken.”

That was a nice way of saying ‘when you die.’ Any attack that was big enough would automatically be dealt to the bracelet instead.

“You will be disqualified if you continue to attack after that. If your actions lead to an actual murder, then you will be tried by the laws of the empire and sentenced to death.”

I would hope so.

“The match will run for fifty minutes. If it does not conclude before then, then the judges will decide the victor. That is all. Please fight while obeying these instructions. Now, the first battle will begin. Macadenia Nikke and Bandi Ree! Everyone else, leave the stage!”

And with that, we descended from the stage. Madenia was the dual-wielder, while Bandi fought with a spear. There were special seats reserved for us fighters. Kind of like where baseball players wait their turn in a stadium. I had been wondering if they were going to shove us back into the waiting room, so it was a pleasant surprise.

They stood, face to face in front of the referee. To the west was the man with two swords at his belt. He wore a blue bandana and had light armor that would be easy to move in. Macadenia Nikke. Facing him, was Bandi. A B-Ranker. However, she wasn’t one of those Adventurers who had hit the ceiling. She was a vicious fighter who had risen to the top with tremendous skill. It was clear that she could reach A-Rank with a little more work.

Macadenia laughed.

“Hehe.”

“What’s so amusing?”

Bandi asked suspiciously with a raise of a thin eyebrow.

“Well, how can I not laugh… When I am fighting against such a fierce warrior…”

“Yes. It’s perhaps too big a burden for someone like you, who only takes people down when they aren’t looking.”

“Ahahahaha! And yet, I always win.”

“What?”

The suspicious face became expressionless. But it felt like there was rage hidden under the surface. Bandi must have been watching the preliminaries then. Well, the guy’s fighting style was definitely divisive. As it was a battle royale, I thought you should always watch your own back. But I suppose it wasn’t exactly the most honorable way to fight.

“Let’s begin. You will become my footstool.”

“Hmph. You’ll be a forgettable memory among the others I’ve defeated.”

Macadenia took a few steps back and withdrew his sword. Bandi jumped back and raised her spear. Then the referee raised his sword high into the air and swung down.

“Begin!!”

Bandi was the first to move. Her posture was low as she shot out with her spear. While she wasn’t as fast as me, it was faster than most B-Rankers.

“She is quick.”

Daniela muttered. While I had become accustomed to ridiculous speeds, Daniela was not. The white prince snorted. Blue-haired Heinrich rubbed at his jaw as he looked on with surprise.

Bandi thrust forward without losing her speed. Macadenia’s smirk never left his face as he thrust one sword into the ground and launched himself into the air so he was doing a handstand on the pommel. The spear smashed into the blade, but it not break. It was a good sword.

That wasn’t what surprised me. What surprised me was that he was able to respond to such speed. From the front, it would have been like a bullet coming towards you. But he had seen it coming and moved with precision.

Bandi scowled at this as she jumped back once again.

“Hmm. I suppose you were lucky.”

“Hehe. Do you think so?”

Either she didn’t want to admit that Macadenia was skilled or she didn’t understand. In any case, Bandi twirled her spear over her head and crouched low.

“Then what about this!”

There was a sharp thrust and the sound of something cutting through air. As someone who was currently studying the use of a spear, it was night and day. She aimed for Macadenia’s feet with an attack that I could only dream of.

“Hhhuh!”

Macadenia stepped away while simultaneously blocking the attack with his other sword. The spear stabbed into the stage instead, but Bandi’s attacks didn’t end there. Just as Macadenia had done, she used her weapon to launch herself into the air and unleashed a ferocious kick to her opponent’s head.

“Ohhh!!”

I couldn’t help but gasp. It was a clean attack, and Macadenia fell to the floor. Perhaps the thrust in the beginning had been used to mislead him. I should take notes.

Macadenia’s face twisted in pain as he curled up on the ground. He had lost his weapons, but the fight wasn’t over…

Well, Bandi wasn’t likely to allow him to pick his swords up. So I guess it was over.

“That was fast.”

“This is about what you should expect in one on one fights…”

“Really? I suppose you’re right.”

Most of the fights I had gotten into personally had been against groups. But now that I think of it, judo matches tended to end quite quickly. So maybe it was like that…

“So, you were all talk, after all.”

Bandi said as she pulled out her spear and approached Macadenia. Macadenia slowly picked himself up until he was on all fours. However, he was dripping with blood. The kick must have been hard enough to tear his skin. Even worse, it was falling from the left side of his face and so he had to keep his left eye closed.

“Heh. Damn this pain…”

“You did well enough, I’ll give you that.”

Bandi said as she raised her spear and looked down at her opponent. Macadenia looked up. It was then that his hand moved slightly.

“Huh!?”

Bandi frantically moved out of the way. In spite of his condition, Macadenia had managed to throw a knife. While I wasn’t very close, I could still see it. Bandi only barely dodged it, but she lost her balance in the process.

“There!”

Macadenia’s smiled disappeared. For the first time, he looked dead serious as the second knife flew through the air. It was going straight towards Bandi’s face. The audience seemed to be holding their breath.

“Gaah!!”

Still, she avoided death. I suppose that was a B-Ranker for you. Her left hand went up and caught the knife. Well, I suppose I should say ‘stopped.’ The end of the blade was sticking out of the other side of her hand. A stream of blood began to cover the stage.

“Heh. Hahahaha!! I specialize in projectiles!!”

“I see… That’s why you have that eye…!”

So he wasn’t actually a dual-wielder. In fact, he had never actually fought with both swords… I think it was just the impact of seeing him with two that had made me forget. Hmm. He was pretty tricky for a low-ranker.

Bandi pulled the knife out of her hand as the blood continued to pour. Still, she seemed determined as she faced Macadenia.

“The battle starts now! Macadenia Nikke!!”

“Hehe… Ahahaha! Let’s enjoy it then!”

And so the fight continued.