As soon as the referee finished his sentence, a member of the Fangs of Capitis chanted an incantation, engulfing the party in a ring of white light. Alice frowned at the marks adorning the party members’ armors. “Well, there’s your white mage,” she said as she enlarged her shield.

“I know,” Tafel said with a nod. “I marked it in my mind.”

“It? She’s a her,” Alice said. But her voice was drowned out by a loud cracking noise. Lightning shot out of Tafel’s sword, flying towards the center of the party.

The member at the front, Abel, stepped forward and blocked it with a shield, nullifying the bolt. He had a one-handed sword in his other hand which he pointed at Tafel. A beam of white light fired from the tip of his sword like a laser, but Tafel redirected it to the Fangs’ white mage with two portals. The laser struck the white mage head on, scorching part of her armor black.

“So these are the rumored portal shields,” Abel said and frowned at the two portals before they disappeared. “An interesting concept. Did you come up with it yourself?”

Tafel slashed her sword in response, the blade entering a portal that emerged in front of her. The purple blade roared and spat green liquid as it appeared behind the white mage, striking her in the back. The mage’s armor sizzled, and she stumbled forward, but other than that, she remained unharmed. Tafel furrowed her brow. “What material is their armor made out of?”

Alice pivoted around and blocked a strike with her shield. One of the Fangs had split off from the party and dashed towards Alice, swinging two daggers, one in each hand. A rune shone on her forehead as she planted her foot against the Fang’s chest, sending him flying with a kick. “It’s an alloy between orichalcum and mithril that the dwarves created,” Alice said before lunging towards the staggered Fang. She swung her shield down like an axe while shouting. The Fang brought his daggers up while retreating backwards, hoping to deflect the blow, but Alice’s shield expanded even further, crushing the man into a heap. Alice snorted as she kicked the fallen man out of the arena’s bounds. “You really thought you could solo me?”

“He’s actually a random person we picked up in the street,” Abel said as he watched without lifting a finger to help his ally. “There were only five of us who were available. The notice was too short to assemble our whole party.”

“I’m flattered you even scrambled to get everyone together,” Alice said as she walked up to Tafel’s side. The demon was chanting in a low voice while keeping her gaze locked onto the Fangs. “But also very annoyed. Keep your grubby fingers out of my business.”

Three Fangs rushed forwards in response, drawing their weapons. Alice glanced at Tafel before stepping forward. The demon wasn’t done chanting her spell, so the only thing she could do was buy her time. Alice pursed her lips before shrinking her shield to a kite shield, her preferred shape. “I don’t think we’re going to win, but I won’t get better unless I struggle, huh?”

“What’s this?” The referee’s voice rang through the arena. “It seems like Tafel is building up her mana for a large-scale spell while leaving herself open to all attacks! Can Alice handle the pressure brought on by her five previous party members for Tafel to complete her spell? I’m not sure, folks, but it looks like she’s committed to trying!” The referee’s voice increased in pitch as Abel’s sword burst into flames. “And Abel leads the charge, sword blazing! Is this his signature move, dragon rush, that made him famous? We’ve all heard rumors about it, but how many of us have actually seen it in action?”

Alice pursed her lips and gripped the handle of her shield. Abel’s movements seemed to slow in her vision as she stepped forward, raising her arm to intercept his strike. She couldn’t let him reach Tafel—not just for the tournament win. She knew Abel: he was a vengeful person. Though it was against the rules to kill someone, how many people would be willing to go against the Fangs of Capitis? Alice roared as the rune on her forehead shone with a bright light. Her shield thickened with a yellow aura as she blocked Abel’s flaming sword. The muscles in her arm screamed, and her face flushed red from the heat billowing off of Abel’s sword.

“You’ve gotten weaker, Alice,” Abel said, his voice flat. His sword continued to press against Alice’s shield, neither side giving an inch. “Before, you were stronger than me. What happened?”

Alice gritted her teeth as she dug her feet into the ground, drawing every inch of strength she could from her legs, but Abel didn’t budge. They both trembled as their weapons remained locked in place. “Do you want to know why I left?” Alice asked. The rune on her forehead shone even brighter. “Because I hated your guts!” Her shield slanted to the side as she twisted her hips, causing Abel’s blade to slide downwards, throwing him off balance. Alice pivoted around, pushing off of Abel’s chest with her shield before sprinting towards the axe-wielding berserker running towards Tafel.

Tafel continued to chant, white light spreading outwards from her feet. Her voice remained steady as she deflected a projectile shot from a rifle by the member of the Fangs standing by the white mage. From the corner of her eye, she saw an armored figure running at her with a whip in hand. The leather flew through the air like a snake, striking towards her head with a massive crack. She raised her sword in front of her face, and the whip wrapped around its blade. The sword hissed as if it were in pain. A massive axe rose into the air beside Tafel’s head, and she almost cancelled her chant, but Alice appeared by her side to block the attack.

Alice grunted as she shoved the axe away. She managed to say, “I demand more pay,” before reengaging Abel who had recovered his balance.

“The Fangs of Capitis have launched a brutal attack, pulling out all the stops, yet Tafel and Alice have managed to hold on! Tafel continues to draw mana in from the surroundings. There’s not many magicians out there who can chant while engaging in a swordfight! Even if she were to lose here, I don’t think many of us will be able to forget the performance she’s displayed so far,” the referee said. “But how much longer can they hold out? Just what spell does Tafel have in mind? Is it enough to turn the tables?”

Alice yelped as a projectile hit her from behind, striking her left shoulder. Smoke drifted up from the rifle-wielding Fang’s weapon, and the white mage standing beside him gave him a high-five. Alice ground her teeth together, ignoring the pain, as Abel’s flaming sword struck her shield again and again. Each hit was heavier than the last, and her arm numbed under the repeated strikes. The only thing stopping her from surrendering was the sound of Tafel’s chanting, rhythmic and steady despite the fact the demon was fending off two people.

Tafel’s blade had dissolved the whip-wielding Fang member’s weapon, and she made quick work of him by bashing his head with her sword’s hilt. The axe-wielding berserker was a lot harder to deal with, his strikes coming from all directions. He disregarded defense as his wild attacks opened up his guard, but the rifle-wielding Fang prevented Tafel from striking those flaws with well-timed bullets.

A loud cracking sound echoed through the arena, causing the referee to gasp. “Alice’s shield has broken under Abel’s dragon rush! It’s all over now folks! It was only a matter of time before Tafel x Vur lost, and it looks like the time is now. Fighting six people with two guaranteed their loss from the start, but despite this, Tafel and Alice have put on an extremely good fight, well deserving of their triple-S status! Alice has been thrown out of the arena by Abel, but Tafel’s still struggling. Is she close to finishing her incantation? Just what does she hope to accomplish!?”

Tafel retreated backwards while blocking Abel’s and the berserker’s attacks. Sweat poured from her forehead, but her voice remained steady. Bullets occasionally glanced off her limbs, causing bloody wounds to appear, but she ignored them. After a fierce exchange that ended with one of the berserker’s axes embedded in her thigh, Tafel’s eyes widened as her voice rose. The white light that had been snaking out of her feet the whole time engulfed the arena and shone as bright as the moon on a cloudless night. Tafel practically shouted her last words as she parried Abel’s strike, “Large-scale teleportation!”

Abel’s eyes widened as a pillar of light engulfed the arena. The referee’s jaws fell open and closed before falling open again. “What’s this!? Tafel managed to complete her spell! It’s too darn bright right now! Even I can’t see what happened from my vantage point!”

Alice pursed her lips as she raised her head off the ground. White mages were treating her injuries—mostly burns on her arms and bullet wounds everywhere else. She stared into the light until it died down, revealing a single figure standing in the arena.

It was Tafel.

Tafel turned her head and smiled at Alice before using her free hand to make a thumbs up gesture. Then she collapsed onto the ground, a puddle of blood spreading out from her body. The white mages on standby ran up to the center of the arena, casting healing spells on the fallen demon.

“Tafel’s the last one standing! I repeat, Tafel’s the last one standing! There’s no signs of the Fangs of Capitis anywhere!”

Alice struggled to stand and wobbled over to Tafel’s side. “That was unexpected,” she said and sat down. “Where did you send them?”

Tafel turned her head so her face wasn’t buried in the ground. She exhaled. “I’m not sure…. Somewhere far.”

“…”

“I mean, they’re probably still on this continent,” Tafel said and pursed her lips. “I think.”