Ch.75Blood-Soaked City. Fernheim (2)

“Ladies and gentlemen in the Colosseum! Thank you for your patience! The fourth match is about to begin!”

“Wooooaaah!!!”

In the center of the arena stood a thin, tall cylindrical tower, which was set up for the announcer to climb and deliver commentary.

Since it blocked the center, I couldn’t see the participant on the opposite side. Then, with a loud mechanical noise, the pillars of the cylinder, except for the roof, slowly began to descend.

Eventually, it formed a peculiarly strange structure with a flat, round platform floating in the air. Judging by the magic circle drawn underneath, it seemed to be engraved with a levitation spell.

“Introducing the participants for this match! Contestant number 07 and contestant number 08!”

As the announcer’s voice boomed throughout the arena, I finally realized I could now see the participant on the opposite side.

Being so far away, I couldn’t make an accurate estimation, but compared to me, there didn’t seem to be much of an age difference.

He did appear older than me, but perhaps he had just come of age or was only a year or two older than me.

“Introducing participant number 07! Everyone, please pay attention to this warrior’s gauntlets! A spirited young man who set out on an adventure to become a master of boxing with weapons inherited from his grandfather! His name is Raiden Baxter! Please give him a round of applause!”

“Yeaaah!!!”

As the announcer introduced him, Raiden raised his gauntlets high into the air and roared.

The crowd’s cheers grew even louder, and I could instinctively feel their gazes turning toward me.

“Next is participant number 08! My goodness, look at that sword! He’s carrying a sword larger than his own height! A master of the greatsword who has come from the distant Parsifal! Introducing Viktor of Parsifal!”

“Hmm!”

I used Ignatus to engulf my sword in flames, and as I raised it skyward, the flames spread in all directions, creating a small spectacle.

“Wow, that’s fucking awesome! You can use magic too?!”

“Viktor! Viktor!”

“The peace of our household depends on your victory! Slice that Raiden or Leiden guy to pieces!”

There were some strange cheers mixed in, but still, cheers directed at me came from all around.

To be honest, I felt quite good.

“Both sides! Prepare for battle!”

Shing!

Clang! Clang!

I raised my sword high, taking an upper guard stance, while Raiden tightened his gauntlets again and assumed a boxer’s stance.

“3! 2! 1!”

“Begin!”

And as soon as the crowd and announcer finished speaking, we charged at each other, ready to kill.

*

“Die!”

Raiden struck first.

After narrowly avoiding his threatening fist, I swung my sword briefly to block Raiden’s approach, and grabbed the base of the blade where it wasn’t sharpened, preparing for close combat.

Seeing my move, Raiden hesitated to approach me, fearing a counterattack, and observing this, I decided to make a bold move.

“Let me show you the sword of Parsifal!”

Shouting that, I charged at him like a mad dog, holding my sword horizontally to thrust at him.

No tricks. Raiden momentarily faltered at the momentum of the heavy sword, but soon realizing it was a straightforward attack, he clenched his fist and swung to counter the sword.

“How dare you!”

Whoosh!

As his fist came flying in an arc, I twisted my shoulder joint and withdrew the extended sword.

“?!”

As his fist swung through empty air, I planted my foot firmly and rotated my body, using centrifugal force to strike at him diagonally.

Normally, such a large attack would be blocked by a short kick, leading to an immediate counterattack, but he had stepped forward with his left foot to throw his punch, and if he tried to kick from that position, he would lose balance and fall instantly.

Swoosh!

Crash!

“Urrrgh!”

That’s why I was able to cut him down easily, and the sound of his chain mail screaming as it tore apart to protect its owner echoed throughout the Colosseum.

“A clean strike! Look at that chain mail flying! Indeed, a great sword is best when swung!”

“Viktor! Viktor! Viktor!”

Raiden, who had been sent flying, managed to get up again, but the chain mail on his side was badly torn, leaving marks all the way to his chest.

In contrast, I hadn’t suffered any injuries, and my armor remained undamaged.

With just one strike, I had gained an enormous advantage.

“Yaaah!”

Then Raiden charged at me as if trying to make up for his earlier mistake…

Whoosh!

“Wha…what?!”

“Ah! Tentacles have sprung from the ground! Contestant Raiden! You’re in mortal danger!”

I waited until he was in just the right position, then used Behde to restrain his body.

Momentary despair flashed in Raiden’s eyes, and I grinned as I brought my sword down on him.

Slash!

“Aaaaargh!!!”

A line of blood appeared, creating a large laceration across his abdomen and chest, revealing scratched bones and organs through the wound.

Gulp! Gulp!

Blood began to flow ceaselessly from his torn body, and to finish off Raiden, who was gradually losing consciousness, I thrust my bloodied sword into his heart.

Squelch!

“Oh! He’s pierced the heart perfectly! It seems Raiden no longer has any chance of winning!”

As the announcer finished speaking, I raised my sword, looking at his face as it transformed into what had once been Raiden.

Then his body rose toward the sky, and the crowd cheered at the sight of arterial blood splattering on my face and my greatsword protruding through Raiden’s back.

“Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!”

Soon the crowd began demanding not just his heart but his head as well, so I returned his completely unconscious body to the ground, then swung my sword wide to sever Raiden’s neck.

Crack!

The sound that rang out was more like tearing than cutting, and I raised his head high, impaled on the tip of my sword.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Look at that performance! It seems we’ve found a new talent! Please give a warm congratulation to the winner! Viktor of Parsifal has defeated Raiden Baxter!”

“Wooooaaah!!!”

“Hey, hey! Damn it! I was counting on you!!!”

“Honey!!! Don’t cook tonight!! We’re going out for meat today!”

Cheers and praises and accolades for me poured in from all directions.

Someone’s home might fall apart because of me, while someone else’s might become more harmonious, but I didn’t need to concern myself with that.

I had won and was reaping the just rewards.

Amid the applause, I left the Colosseum, and only then did I realize that even I had been completely intoxicated by the heat of battle.

*

“So, how did everyone do?”

Since I had the last match, I didn’t have a chance to see my companions’ battles.

It was tradition and rule that all contestants had to stay in the waiting room before their matches, so I couldn’t watch from the stands either.

“I lost.”

“Oh dear.”

“No, seriously, the flail is such an unfair weapon! I clearly blocked it with my spear, but the mace part just kept spinning on its own and hit me, can you believe it?”

Raisha had unfortunately lost, and she was puffing her already plump cheeks even more, clearly frustrated at being completely outplayed by an opponent wielding a flail.

“And you?”

“I barely won. My opponent was another spell caster like me, and after we kept hitting each other with spells without a clear winner, we ended up ungracefully beating each other with our staffs. Good thing I learned how to handle a staff… otherwise my head would have been cracked open.”

“Hmm.”

Raisha was eliminated. Simon and I had passed.

Since it wasn’t a tournament format and there were no championship prizes, we expressed our regrets while enjoying meat and alcohol, and began discussing what to do in this city tomorrow.

“Are you interested in fighting another match at the Colosseum?”

“Huh?”

“No, I just saw it while passing by. There’s a 3-person team match at the nearby Colosseum in two days. The number of people matches perfectly. The prize is a thoroughbred warhorse, they say.”

“A thoroughbred warhorse?”

“Let’s see… it should be somewhere here… Ah, here it is. There should be detailed information here.”

Simon showed me a flyer he had picked up from the street, and I unfolded it to examine the details.

And that’s when I saw the warhorse offered as the grand prize.

A beautiful burgundy body with a lustrous sheen. All four legs had ivory-colored fur, and it had a golden mane like mine and blue eyes like mine.

“I’m entering.”

“No, why don’t you read a bit more carefully?”

I showed Simon the warhorse that was set as the grand prize.

“Ah. This one should definitely be yours. Then we must enter.”

“What’s so special about it that you’re both so excited?”

Raisha snatched the flyer from Simon’s hand and examined it carefully…

“Oh, we definitely need to win this.”

“Right?”

And thus, the same conclusion was reached.