Ch.400[Chapter 400] Duel

Sir Dominic and Kagehyasha arrived at the Colosseum.

“Welcome. What brings you here today?”

“Ah, I’m here for a one-on-one battle.”

“I see. How many rounds and what victory condition?”

“Hmm.”

Sir Dominic began to confidently explain his business to the staff at the Colosseum entrance.

He had already researched about one-on-one battles online before coming here.

Sir Dominic turned his head to look at Kagehyasha.

Kagehyasha stroked the chin part of his mask at Sir Dominic’s gaze, then spread all five fingers of one hand.

“You mean a best of five?”

“No, five sets. Best of nine.”

Kagehyasha made an outrageous proposal, seemingly wanting to learn as much as possible from Sir Dominic.

“That would be difficult.”

“Why?”

“Because my granddaughter would get bored.”

“Ah.”

Kagehyasha immediately understood Sir Dominic’s point.

Sir Dominica was currently excited by the tense atmosphere between Sir Dominic and Kagehyasha, but being a child, her curiosity could shift elsewhere at any moment.

If that happened, Sir Dominic would have to leave with Sir Dominica, making Kagehyasha’s proposal completely unreasonable.

Kagehyasha rested his halberd on his shoulder and fell into thought.

It seems the maximum this platypus doll can propose is best of five.

With that thought, Kagehyasha accepted Sir Dominic’s suggestion.

“Fine. Best of five.”

“Understood. One-on-one, best of five.”

Sir Dominic told the Colosseum staff about the one-on-one, best of five match.

The staff member muttered “one-on-one, best of five” again, then asked about the terrain.

“Do you have a preferred map?”

“Map, you say. Are there any popular maps these days?”

“Well, we have various gimmicks like fighting inside an airship, in a falling elevator, or on a submarine that’s about to sink.”

“Hmm.”

This time Sir Dominic pondered.

But his deliberation didn’t last long because Sir Dominica chose the map for him.

“Ha-poo! Ja!”

“Hmm?”

Sir Dominic looked at the map Sir Dominica was pointing to.

It was a training ground with a burning building as the backdrop. Being a night map, it was extremely dark except for the areas where flames were rising.

Sir Dominica probably chose this map because of the red parts of the burning map.

Red was quite a stimulating color after all.

Sir Dominic liked the map Sir Dominica had chosen, but he needed to ask his opponent’s opinion first.

“How about this map?”

“As long as we can fight, anywhere is fine.”

Kagehyasha crossed his arms and nodded at Sir Dominic’s suggestion.

Once they had chosen the map, the Colosseum staff entered something into a nearby computer and handed them a key.

“Please go to Room 17, ‘1:1 Burning Training Ground, Best of 5, Beginners Only.’ Return the key when you’re finished, and if you want additional matches, please contact the counter.”

“Thank you.”

Sir Dominic said as he took the key from the staff.

“Now all that’s left is to fight.”

“Mm.”

Sir Dominic picked up Sir Dominica and headed to find Room 17.

Kagehyasha naturally followed behind Sir Dominic.

The time for the decisive battle was approaching.

…

When Sir Dominic arrived at Room 17, there was a large sliding door that could be pushed open from both sides.

Opening the sliding door, Sir Dominic could see the burning training ground.

The contrast between the Colosseum corridor and the room’s interior was so stark that it felt like different dimensions had been cut with a knife and glued together.

Sir Dominic entered the room, feeling the hot air from the burning training ground.

Kagehyasha followed, politely closing the door behind him and following Sir Dominic.

Despite his words and actions, he might actually be quite a decent man.

Sir Dominica, held in Sir Dominic’s arms, reached out toward the blazing flames.

In a normal situation, this could have been a dangerous moment risking burns, but since everything here was staged, there was no risk of actual injury.

Rather, the blazing flames only attracted Sir Dominica’s attention and interest more.

Sir Dominic looked around briefly and soon discovered a table for infants.

To be precise, it was set up next to the entrance, along with baby diapers and snacks.

It seemed many people like Sir Dominic brought children here.

Well, not all citizens of Gacha Land were without children.

Just look at Unryu Musashi and Unryu Ichiko, who were Hime’s parents.

Except for cases where adult children suddenly appeared out of nowhere, there must have been a time when they raised them from this young age.

And enemies wouldn’t wait for such times.

With that thought, Sir Dominic sat Sir Dominica at the infant table and fastened her safety belt.

He prepared sweet snacks that Sir Dominica would like and turned on the television to a children’s animation.

Only after completing all these tasks perfectly could Sir Dominic face Kagehyasha, who was already waiting in the training ground.

“Sorry. I’m late.”

“No. Children come first, not fighting.”

Kagehyasha nodded slightly as if he understood.

“Now that all distractions are gone, all that’s left is to fight properly.”

Kagehyasha raised his halberd again, striking a Kabuki-like pose.

Sir Dominic somehow thought he could see an aura around him that shouldn’t be visible.

“Even if it’s just to obtain your granddaughter’s platypus doll, I’ll fight properly.”

Sir Dominic responded politely to Kagehyasha’s words and drew his sword and shield.

As usual, he raised his shield in front, looking at Kagehyasha from behind it.

“…Truly worthy of your reputation.”

Kagehyasha uttered an inexplicable exclamation upon seeing this, then rushed toward Sir Dominic.

It was a very swift movement despite his large build.

“Hmm!”

Sir Dominic tried to deflect the incoming halberd’s spear tip with his shield, but the axe part of the halberd caught on the edge of the shield like a hook, instantly putting him in danger.

Realizing that Kagehyasha’s halberd skills were extraordinary, Sir Dominic immediately spun his body and swung his sword.

Sir Dominic’s sword was very well-maintained, reflecting the burning training ground and glowing red.

The tip of Sir Dominic’s sword lunged toward Kagehyasha’s neck.

Kagehyasha quickly pulled back his halberd and deflected the sword tip with the opposite end of his weapon.

But Sir Dominic’s attack wasn’t over.

The sword thrust was a feint; the real attack was the shield that followed.

“Kuk-!”

Kagehyasha desperately tried to block with the staff portion, but Sir Dominic moved closer to Kagehyasha’s body and swung his shield.

Under Sir Dominic’s attack, Kagehyasha tried to roll away to avoid the next attack, but his body wouldn’t respond.

The effect attached to Sir Dominic’s equipment had triggered—a stunning effect when striking with the shield.

Sir Dominic raised his shield toward Kagehyasha again.

Having gained momentum, he wasn’t about to let it go.

Kagehyasha closed his eyes, sensing his defeat in the first round.

“Wait! Wait!”

That’s when it happened.

Someone appeared to interrupt Sir Dominic’s finishing move.

“You shouldn’t fight without a referee, you know?”

Sir Dominic turned his head to look at the sudden intruder.

He was wearing a sheriff’s hat and a black and white striped shirt, with yellow and red cards tucked into his chest pocket.

“Sorry. I was refereeing an amateur soccer match and didn’t realize customers had arrived.”

The man in the sheriff’s hat joked as he separated Sir Dominic and Kagehyasha.

“Who are you?”

Kagehyasha growled as if his pride was hurt by this interruption of their honorable battle.

Despite the fact that he was losing, he seemed the most angered by this sudden interference.

“Ah, I’m the referee. Didn’t the staff at the entrance explain?”

The man who introduced himself as the referee began to explain his job.

“My job is to prevent disputes when a clear winner is determined, to judge and determine a winner in case of a tie, and to help ensure that both people have a fair and clean duel. I’m also tasked with officially recording this duel.”

The referee joked as he pulled out a stopwatch from his pocket.

The stopwatch was pointing exactly at 10 minutes.

“If you just fight here, how is it different from dueling in the street? At the very least, someone needs to officially announce the results. Don’t you agree?”

Sir Dominic and Kagehyasha looked at each other and the referee alternately, dumbfounded.

“Well then, let me know when you’re ready. The real best of five starts from when I arrived.”

Regardless, the referee looked at Sir Dominic and Kagehyasha with a grin.