The first match of the semifinals had officially begun.
Sankaka utilized the reach of his spear to maintain distance from Ian, thrusting without pause.
But Ian was no easy opponent.
Dodging some strikes, blocking others with her sword as she closed the distance, Ian’s eyes flashed.
“Slash!”
A slashing strike to disrupt the opponent and his spear’s balance.
Sensing the danger instinctively, Sankaka twisted his body to evade the blade.
Ian did not miss that opening and continued her slashing assault.
Mana permeated her blade.
Pale blue trajectories whirled around Sankaka.
Sankaka gripped his spear with both hands and extended it forward.
Basic Spear Skill, Form 5.
Single-direction defensive technique.
“Spear Guard.”
His spear deflected all of Ian’s sword strikes.
Then, twisting his waist, Sankaka pulled the spear taut behind his back.
“Swing.”
Form 2 spinning strike.
A red semicircle sent the approaching Ian flying.
Rising into the air, she let her sword hang loose.
“Sword Rush.”
Ian, her speed dropping abruptly like a boomerang.
And then her body charged toward Sankaka like a bullet.
-Kclang!
Ian’s sword struck aside Sankaka’s spear and passed through.
In that single exchange,
Sankaka’s eyes quivered.
“You’re quite skilled, guest.”
“You’re not so bad yourself.”
Ian rushed in before Sankaka could set his stance.
Clashing sword and spear.
Facing Ian, Sankaka bared his teeth in a grin.
“This is the first time my heart has raced like this since I fought Lord Ravana.”
He was one who enjoyed fighting the strong.
But as time passed, there came to be no one who made his heart race, save for Damarna Ravana.
Sankaka was curious.
How far did her limits extend, and how long could she keep his heart pounding?
And so.
“From now on, I shall get serious.”
Sankaka’s eyes gleamed.
Mana surged around his spear.
Basic Spear Skill, Form 8.
Single-target buff technique.
“Aura Spear.”
Sankaka’s spear, which had sent Ian flying back, now bore down upon her.
Ian tilted her head and extended her foot forward to dodge the spear.
But.
-Shhrip!
Blood spurted.
A deep cut appeared on her cheek.
‘No way?’
Her eyes narrowed.
At the same time, a second spear strike grazed Ian’s arm as it passed.
Ian was certain.
‘The range and reach are different from what I can see.’
And its true nature was the mana Sankaka had cloaked his spear in moments ago.
For now, gauging the spear’s effective range was the priority.
Ignoring the increasing minor wounds, Ian brought her sword to meet the approaching spear.
Like striking an invisible wall, her sword bounced away before touching the blade.
However, thanks to that, she could now grasp the feeling.
“Twin Spear.”
Two spears thrusting toward her chest.
Having perfectly evaded them, Ian’s sword was drawn back over her shoulder.
Thrust, Linear.
Sankaka twisted his body to avoid the swiftly approaching blue sword, but blood flowed from his cut forearm.
‘She’s already figured out the range?’
Sankaka grabbed the spearhead and brought it down mightily toward Ian.
But once again, the attack did not reach her.
The moment doubt became certainty, her blade cut into Sankaka once more.
To avoid the sword, Sankaka leaped backward to create distance.
And then, stomping firmly on the ground, he soared high into the sky.
Wide-area destroyer, Strike Impact.
A red meteor capable of destroying everything fell toward Ian.
There was only one way to avoid the meteor that would obliterate the surroundings.
Ian too jumped into the air with all her might, matching the descending Sankaka.
And from now on, it was the mage’s time.
Magical power gathered from her staff.
“Ice Spear.”
Four ice spears embedded themselves around Sankaka.
Followed by.
“Fireball.”
A fireball charging toward the ice spears.
The two colliding spells caused thick steam to billow around him.
Visibility dropped to nothing, as if shrouded in fog.
In that situation, Ian’s bombardment of Sankaka began.
From wind blades shooting out from blind spots to a continuous barrage of ice and fire to keep the steam from clearing.
Before long, Sankaka’s expression hardened.
‘I have to secure my field of vision.’
His spear rotated greatly, creating wind.
The fierce wind began to scatter the steam.
And in that moment, Ian’s sword had already reached Sankaka’s vicinity.
He desperately raised his spear to block, but his wrist throbbed with stinging pain.
Because it wasn’t a proper stance, the damage was greater than expected.
Moreover.
‘F-fast.’
Ian’s body was under the effect of the wind support magic, Haste.
It was difficult to follow her changed movements with his eyes.
In this situation, the advantage of range meant nothing.
In that case…
Veins bulged in Sankaka’s hand gripping the spear shaft.
‘I have to knock it away.’
Even if he lost his weapon in the process, he was certain that if he could transition to hand-to-hand combat, his superior build and strength would give him the advantage.
Visualizing her sword path thus far and predicting her movement, Sankaka swung his spear with all his might timed to Ian’s approach.
-Kclang!
His wrist screamed from the excessive force.
Because of that, Sankaka’s spear was knocked from his hand.
But the same was true for Ian.
The sword she held in one hand couldn’t overcome the force and slipped from her grasp, spinning through the air.
Seizing the opportunity, Sankaka lunged at Ian.
-Tak!
At that moment, Ian’s hand seized Sankaka’s spear.
A red light began to swirl around the spearhead.
The spear held in Ian’s hand drew a semicircle toward the wide-eyed Sankaka.
A single-strike spinning attack.
“Swing!”
“Kurk!”
His body, struck by the spear shaft, was sent flying far away.
At the same time, with red light swirling once more from the spear pulled taut behind her, Ian charged.
She extended the spear toward Sankaka, who had yet to regain his stance.
“Spear!”
The emotion Sankaka felt in that moment was death.
His body froze stiff at the approaching spearhead.
-Thuk!
The spear cut through the air and touched Sankaka’s throat.
However, it stopped before his Adam’s apple before piercing through.
Cold sweat trickled down Sankaka’s cheek.
And he carefully raised both hands.
“You knew how to use a spear as well?”
“I have a good friend. I learned from them.”
“I… see.”
Great Warrior Hakon.
The spear master who trained with her during the festival period.
It was thanks to him that she had been able to deal with Sankaka’s spear so easily.
Because she had endlessly studied how to counter spears with him in the past.
Ian smiled at Sankaka.
“So, what do you say next?”
“You truly show no mercy.”
Smiling bitterly and shaking his head, he gave the answer Ian wanted.
“Yes, I have lost.”
At the moment the finalist was thus decided,
a tremendous roar filled the arena.
And Ian, whose tension melted at the sound of the people’s voices,
“I won….”
-Thud!
Collapsed on the spot.
***
The sky was red.
Dense shadows hung heavily between the tightly packed stone buildings.
A man dressed in black approached me in the darkness.
I scream.
Don’t come, go away, help me.
But there is no one around.
In that cold alley, the only things in the darkness were corpses forming pools of blood.
The moment he approached before me and reached out his hand.
“Stop!”
My vision shifted with a cry close to a scream.
“Hah, hah….”
Trickling cold sweat. Ragged breathing bursting out.
Seeing the room submerged in darkness, I belatedly realized that the scene from moments ago had been a dream.
It was the worst.
Of all the many dreams, why did it have to be that one.
My throat was parched.
Having barely calmed my rippling chest, I tried to move to find water.
-Clank, clank!
Until I discovered the shackles on my feet.
“What is this now?”
Had I been thrown in some prison?
Or was I still dreaming?
As I was engulfed in questions, the door opened and a familiar face appeared.
“Veronica?”
The pink-haired girl who had started following me around since this zone.
The moment she saw me, she strode over and smacked my arm.
“You’ve really outdone yourself as an idiot. Just what have you been doing to collapse from overwork? Are you trying to give everyone a collective heart attack? Or are you appealing as a sickly beauty now?”
“C-collapse?”
“Oh please, did you forget you have a match tomorrow? It’s a good thing the Queen blessed you; what were you thinking, collapsing like that?”
“Ah….”
Now I remembered.
I had collapsed at the end.
Looking around, I was in Tedumaya’s lodgings.
She had probably moved me here.
“Anyway! Get some sleep quietly today. I put those shackles on you for that purpose, so don’t even think about taking them off.”
“But that’s a bit much….”
“Should I bind all your limbs right now?”
I shook my head vigorously.
Surely not; being completely bound felt like something essential to me as a human being was being chipped away.
“By the way, what do you mean by the Queen’s blessing?”
“Normally, if you collapse from overwork, you can’t move properly for days. But thanks to the Queen’s blessing, you’ll feel somewhat refreshed. It boosts your stamina or something.”
Indeed, compared to before, my head and body felt much lighter.
At this rate, I might return to perfect condition after sleeping again.
Looking at me like that, Veronica sighed as if the ground would give way.
“Sigh. So what you’ve been doing all this time was hunting?”
“S-something like that…. How did you know?”
“Anyone could tell when you suddenly used a spear. If you were trying to surprise us, I’d give you a pat on the back. Because I really was surprised.”
The truth was that I had honed proficiency in a new weapon under Hakon’s guidance, but I decided to stay quiet for now.
Because she looked ready to really smack my back if I said even a word wrong.
Come to think of it, what happened in the second match?
“Hey Veronica, what happened in the second match?”
“Ah, about that.”
Veronica smiled bitterly.
“She lost. Miss Emily.”
“She lost?”
“Yes. She held out as long as she could, but eventually succumbed to the onslaught.”
Her gaze looking out the window was empty.
“At first, I thought she could win. She blocked everything. No matter how fierce the attacks, nothing could break through Miss Emily’s shield.”
“Then how….”
“How should I put it… from the middle, it seemed like she suddenly started using different weapon skills. Even though her weapon was clearly a sword, she’d use axe skills or spear skills. Because of that, even Miss Emily was broken through.”
“Huh? Is that possible?”
“I’m a swordsman, so I don’t really know, but that’s what other people said when they saw it.”
“Hmm….”
In Arcadia, to use a skill, you must basically have only one weapon in your hand.
The reason I was able to use spear skills in today’s match was because Sankaka had knocked my sword away.
However, I sometimes imagine.
Using magic while holding a sword… no, using various skills like that.
After all, the process of sheathing the sword, taking out the staff, and drawing the sword again is quite annoying and time-consuming.
I think that if that process could be skipped, it would make for much more natural combos.
But Ravana can do that?
I don’t see how this is any different from telling me to beat someone who uses hacks.
Then, Veronica’s voice echoed in my ears as I was agonizing over it.
“Still, I believe in you, Ian.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t know, I just have a feeling that you’ll do something. I believe you’ll win beautifully in the finals this time too and clear the way to Zone 5.”
“Uh….”
At the embarrassing words, I averted my gaze from Veronica.
My goal had been to get stronger from the beginning; I had no intention of repaying the faith she spoke of.
I had simply ended up here by chance.
Still, having someone believe in me was an incredibly happy thing.
This feeling of my chest achingly resonating. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I had come this far because of this feeling.
And so.
Veronica, who had whispered thus, was already gently stroking my head.
“Don’t worry about anything today, don’t be afraid, and rest well. This night, I shall keep watch by your side.”
At that warm voice, my eyes began to slowly close.
The worries from moments ago disappeared from my mind, and only drowsiness remained in my body, leading me into darkness.
And so.
My second sleep was as sweet as candy.