Chapter 251

As Daniela had been watching the fight, she filled me in while we watched Bandi and Levee.

“Ahahaha!!”

“Kk…!”

Levee’s combat mania could be disturbing.

The vicious attacks of the ‘A-Ranker with an alias’ meant that it was a pretty one-sided fight. However Bandi was doing a pretty good job, all things considered. I would even say that her impressive work with the spear was worthy of an A-Ranker. Considering that Levee had an alias and was considerably ahead of most A-Rankers, it was not a huge stretch…I think.

As I watched, Bandi’s sharp attack thrust into Levee’s stomach. It was that rapid thrust I had seen in the first fight. She had been crouching low and so it went into Levee’s stomach at an upward angle.

However, Levee didn’t seem bothered. She even smiled as she grabbed the spear with one hand.

“Hehe. Hah. Ahahaha! Yes! Good! This is better!”

She was as mad as ever. And with that, she raised the ice rapier with her free hand, and smashed the blade into Bandi’s horrified face.

“It is finished! The fight is finished!”

The rattling bracelet was another indicator. And it seemed like I wasn’t the only one who felt anxious about Levee. The referee looked a little frantic as he came down and made the announcement. That was very brave of him…

“…It’s over already?”

“Ha…ah…”

Bandi was covered in sweat and breathing hard. The sword had been pulled out and the magic device shattered. Blood and sweat dripped from her drenched clothes as she softly raised a hand to her forehead where the blade had been. Of course, it was as smooth as before. Bandi sighed with relief before crumbling to the ground.

“Ahhh…how dull.”

Levee looked dazed as she wandered back to the stand. The referee quickly pulled her back. There was a spear in her stomach, after all.

Levee sighed in annoyance and allowed them to take her to the medical room to be treated.

“…So, Heinrich was unable to breath in the water, and he surrendered.”

“I see…”

“Were you listening?”

“Hmm? Ah, yeah.”

“You were not.”

“I was. I was.”

Heinrich looked at me with suspicious eyes after hearing my answer to Daniela.

“You can be quite terrible, Mister Asagi…”

“Huh? Hehe. I don’t think so. Sounds like you did great, Heinrich.”

“Yes…”

Heinrich slumped forward and his blue hair fell in his face.

□ □ □ □

Daniela’s second fight. She was facing the fire user, Newt Erangute. He was not exactly a worthy opponent for someone like Daniela, in my opinion. His trump card was something called ‘Ignition Road,’ but it could never get passed Daniela’s wind barrier. In theory, wind wasn’t necessarily stronger than the fire attribute, so it was really more about the incredible discrepancy in their ability.

With his magic now useless, Newt had no choice but to give up. Daniela was showered with praise and cheers for her total victory. Need I say that her fanbase seemed to be predominantly female?

Now, I recalled the tournament bracket. It would be Adlus and me next. And then after that, it would be Daniela and Levee. And then the final battle. While Daniela would fight three times, if things went well, I would only have to fight twice to reach the final battle. This was due to the number of contestants and the fact that it was set up to be in favor of the previous winner, to a small degree. Apparently, it was tradition. I was told this by a member of staff during Daniela’s fight.

It was then that I also learned that, as it was such a great event, the final battle would take place on the following day. The fighters would have time to rest so they could return in optimum condition.

“I believe this was explained to you all in great detail already…”

“Uh, sorry. We weren’t here.”

“…”

She looked at me with disdain. A chill ran down my spine.

And so it was now my turn. I was surrounded by cheers as I rose to the stage and faced Adlus.

“Hmph. Well, I suppose Daniela will finally become my companion now. Officially.

“That’s not how it works, idiot.”

“Haha. You won’t be so insolent for long, Black Rabbit.”

…???

“What did you say…?”

“Hehe… I said, ‘Black Rabbit.’ Isn’t that your name? You aroused my interest, and so I asked around.”

I was furious. That was all in the past. It had ended, and in a way that I was satisfied with. In fact, I was able to talk about it casually as one of many memories.

But not with this guy.

“The hair and the fast legs. I think it’s a very fitting name for you. I would like to shake the hand of the man who thought of it.”

“…”

My eyes grew hot and the back of my head started to hurt. I hated his laughing face so much. The part of me that saw this as just a game seemed to vanish, and I became intent on dishing out some real pain.

“Haha! I think this might be a good fight. What do you think? Black Rabbit.”

“…”

Meh.

I wasn’t a kid anymore. I’m mad. I’ll hit you. That’s not how I work. Nope. Especially not in a place like this. Yeah, I was pretty pissed off a few seconds ago, but I’ve already forgotten about it. Yes, let’s just say it didn’t happen.

“Hahh…hahh…”

I took in a deep breath. I needed to concentrate. This was all part of his strategy. He had gone out of his way to do some research. He must feel very cautious about this fight.

That had to be it, right? It was such a small incident that happened far away. A winner wouldn’t care about that. Crush me with your overwhelming skill if you’re a true winner.

“Have you figured out how you are going to run away? Let’s begin then.”

“Yeah. Let’s make it a fight that neither of us will regret.”

“Haha. Indeed.”

I unsheathed my sword and held it in a lowered stance. Adlus pulled out his blue, two-edged sword in a smooth motion. I guessed that it had the water attribute. Adlus’s alias was ‘Wanderer.’ He had the ability to control and shape water as he desired.

I could see the energy flowing from him. It was a dark blue.

“Begin!!”

The referee shouted. And with that, water began to flood around Adlus’s feet. The currents of water rose into the air and enveloped him.

“That’s a lot of water to create… I suppose that’s why you have an alias.”

“Hmph. This is nothing. It’s very telling that this much surprises you, Black Rabbit.”

I pulled down my hood, as I didn’t like to get wet. And then I let the ice magic flow. I could hear it forming around my feet. Then I used Legs of the God Wolf to crack the ice as I walked forward.

“Ahaha. That is quite the performance. You’re not even worth fighting! …What!?”

The shocked look on Adlus’s face was incredibly satisfying. I raised my speed all at once and instantly moved behind his back before swinging my sword.

“Huh?”

“Did you really think I would fall for that?”

Adlus had spun around and blocked my blade. I could see him smirking behind the flow of water. Had he predicted it? Right now? That was crazy.

“…!”

I pulled back my sword and moved away. This time, I thrust towards his side. But this was also blocked by the water. He then looked at me and laughed.

After that, I used Legs of the God Wolf at full speed and slashed at him from every angle, and yet they were all blocked. Of course, I wasn’t just swinging randomly. I was putting Jack of all Trades, Master of None’s simulation abilities to heavy use. And yet, not only my sword, but even the Ice Arrows were being blocked. This was true even when I attacked from multiple sides simultaneously. Perhaps a cheat was involved?

“It’s no use, Black Rabbit. My water will block all of your attacks. Why don’t you understand? That is the nature of my magic.”

“…I see.”

Water magic auto-guard. Hmm. So that’s what it was. Adlus laughed every time my attacks were blocked. So he hadn’t actually been able to follow my movements. He just needed to stand there, because the magic barrier protected him. He had been prepared before the fight even began.

“I lived long enough to create this water magic. ‘Wogenstrom Shield’ can easily deal with your childish attacks.”

“Right… Well, I should change tactics then.”

I could tell it was original magic just by the name. Just the sound of it gave me a headache.

“The only thing you can do is run away.”

“Is that what you think, bastard? You clearly didn’t do enough research.”

I had more traits than being called ‘Black Rabbit’ at one point. Looking up a person’s weaknesses alone was no way to victory…

At least, I think… I could never become fully confident about such things.