Chapter 25: A Solo Duel

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"My proud citizens! I present to you the battle of Haruki and Hime, Roden's finest, against Andrew and Bogdan, Prax's second strongest pair!" The Queen shouted with excitement

Do the coliseum fights really have a huge effect on players here? Even the Queen decided to announce this fight herself. I guess in this city the best players are determined in direct combat. Where we're from duels aren't really important and players mostly focus on quests and hunting. That means each place has their specific way of competition, not that it really matters to me though.....

Glancing at the other edge of the field I examined our foes for this round. They were clad in gray bone armor that seemed to be on a different scale than bone armor used by mobs with low quality. Their armor looked both ancient and incredibly sturdy which made me think if they were made from high level monster bones. Covering their heads were helmets that appeared similar to Viking helmets with horns protruding from both sides. Just like their matching armor they also carried greatswords that were similar in shape. The only difference was one was a dark red with flames visible around it and the other blue with shards of ice covering it.

Those weapons are definitely of a superior quality! The enchantments on them were so strong that we could see them directly! Noticing them walking to the center, Hime and I also slowly made our way in front of them.

"You guys, won't you surrender? We have no intentions on competing with you." The one called Andrew spoke with me

"Why is that?" I asked tightening my grip on my sword

"We only want to pay Arran back and prove we're the strongest. Both of you have done well but please withdraw now." He replied with a straight face

"We can't. If you wish to proceed than you'll have to beat us." Hime answered fiercely

"....I see. that's too bad. We'll try our best not to harm you." Bogdan said while returning to the edge of the arena

Did that guy say Arran? The person that Hime and I met earlier? Looks like his status as the strongest backed up his goals. Still, these guys looked really tough. I wonder how Arran managed to defeat them....

As Hime and I walked back to our spot she started to speak in a quiet tone.

"We can win right, Nii-san?"

".....I don't know. We'll try our best but I don't want you doing something unreasonable." I warned her

"......"

Facing them again we waited for the signal to begin. As soon as the sound of a large bell rang out I swiftly kicked the ground beneath me and ran ahead while Hime took a stationary position.

Arrows flew from behind me heading towards the bone-armored duo but they simply knocked them from their path with huge swings of their sword. I'll need to distract their attention from the range attacks so Hime can deal damage! Jumping into the air I aimed my blade at Bogdan's head while I was falling. Noticing my overhead assault he lifted his huge sword and used it as if it were a shield blocking my strike.

On my right, Andrew had also lifted his blade and swung it high aiming at my body that was still in midair! Using my feet, I kicked off from Bogdan's weapon and landed while sliding to the back. Raising my left hand I fired shots of lightning bolts at them, which they shielded with their large weapons. The spells didn't even knock them back! It was like the swords absorbed my magic into them.

Not giving up, I formed a few small lightning daggers and threw them to their chests. Once again, the attacks proved ineffective as they were blocked by the greatswords again! The advantage I had against them was speed with my lightning abilities and higher agility. Circling them quickly I started striking at their bodies trying to do some damage. Hime's shots sometimes found their mark as I circled around getting their attention decreasing their HP by small amounts.

Realizing that leaving Hime alone would put them at a disadvantage one of them broke away and started to head towards Hime. I was about to chase after him but I spotted Hime shaking her head in the distance. She was gesturing that she could handle it but I hesitated. Before I could think of it further, a piece of red metal was heading to me. Raising my katana I successfully deflected it at its side causing it to miss. I instantly felt heat on my left side, which I realized came from the fire attribute of the blade. Raising my right leg high, I kicked to his unguarded side and pushed him back a few feet away from me.

Turning my attention back at Hime, I found that she was nimbly avoiding blows by using various movements while shooting arrows at close range. Her skills in swordsmanship gave her the ability to use complicated footwork and combined them with the use of a bow! The result as I could see was a close range bow and arrow fighting style!

Bogdan, the one that was chasing her, had a hard time with his clunky armor and weapon against her agile maneuvers. While she was ducking, rolling and jumping around she managed to score a few hits on him but it still didn't do much thanks to his high defense.

Refocusing on my foe, I started to charge lightning into my blade and assaulted him rapidly. Using my left hand I hit his arms every time I could, making his aim unsteady and giving me chances to strike at him. Taking short breaths I focused on doing small fast attacks to help avoid his blows. With my lightning use at its maximum I found that my mana was close to being depleted. I carefully jumped back and kept a close eye on my enemy while waiting for my mana to regenerate.

This was my biggest mistake in the tournament. In team matches, one should always be aware of all enemy locations! Because I only paid attention to one of them I didn't realize Bogdan had ran up to me and was already about to slash at me unguarded head.

Sensing my loss, I braced myself for the pain that was to come and clenched my fists as I watched helplessly at the blade striking down on me.

"NII-SAN!!!"

Out of nowhere Hime had leapt pushing me away from the attack. The large blade came down and hit Hime at her shoulder causing a large cut from her shoulder almost reaching her chest. Having taken such a heavy blow I noticed her armor was starting to get soaked in blood while she fell unconscious.

"HIME!! DAMN IT!! HIMEEE!!!"

Shouting wildly at her unmoving body I started to panic. I was stupefied by the fact that she took the attack meant for me. Even though we couldn't die in this fight no doubt she felt an incredible pain from protecting me!

"....."

Watching as the two large men came closer I started to channel all the mana I had into my body. I have to end this fight soon! I can't just leave her lying down in a pool of her own blood without doing anything!

Taking deep breaths, I kept my mind from wandering. If I lost here I won't be able to make sure she's fine....

With my worried feelings inside my head I started to release electric sparks from my left hand. Instead of the usual blue color this time I noticed that it had a dark yellow hue while it wrapped around my left arm.

Andrew and Bogdan noticing the change hesitated to step forward to me.

"Now you won't come at me!? COME ON!!" I shouted at them like a wild beast

Swinging my left arm high I formed the shape of lightning I intended with my thoughts. With a crackling sound the shape shot itself from my arm and launched at Bogdan. What I had created was a bright whip made entirely from electricity!

The lightning had wrapped around the neck of Bogdan and started to electrocute him. He tried slashing at it with his blue sword to no avail. I poured even more mana into my rope-like lightning and pulled as hard as I could.

Not able to stand his ground against the sudden force he fell down face first into the ground.

Without mercy I started to keep tugging at the dark yellow lightning dragging him on the ground making his face covered in cuts and bruises. Andrew tried to pull him back but I prevented that by sheathing my katana and released a bolt from my right palm. Because he was stating to lose his concentration it hit him on his shoulder pushing him farther away.

Bogdan unable to release himself from the lightning was now at my feet. Trying to claw at his neck crapped by lightning he looked up with a small hint of fear visible on his face. Staring coldly into his eyes I merely said what popped into my head.

"This is for hurting my sister, you asshole."

Charging my lightning into my right fist I brought it down as hard as I could. As the fist came into contact with his helmet lightning sparks were released causing cracks to form on the ground. Even though my lightning cover my hand it still hurt with me feeling as if I had punched a rock as hard as I could.

Bogdan's helmet was shattered by my attack and he was instantly knocked out. Releasing my whip from his body I stared at Andrew and watched his movements. His face leaked worry as I had dealt with his partner quickly. Drawing my katana again I used 'lightning blade' as the new color of my magic spread through its metal.

Running up to him I released slashes and thrusts that he couldn't keep up with. Forming another whip from my left arm I swung it while aiming for his lower body. Realizing my intention he jumped up to avoid being caught by my electric whip. I knew this was useless for him though. My lightning started to move upwards following his jump! I could control the exact movements of my lightning leaving only the fastest foes to be able to dodge them!

I had managed to catch his ankle and pulled down slamming him into the ground stirring up the sand. I pushed my lightning fused blade to his exposed neck burning some of skin off.

"Are you going to surrender? I only had a grudge against the one that hurt Hime." I looked into his eyes

I watched as the color of his face was drained while he started to nod vigorously trying to escape the prickling sensation on his neck.

"Good." I calmly sheathed my katana and walked over to Hime

Casting my 'Basic Heal' I managed to at least close the gaping wound on her shoulder and sighed a breath of relief. Even though she was fine, it seems the shock was still keeping her out cold.

Carrying her in my arms I head back to the waiting room and heard the roaring sounds behind me.

"Truly magnificent! Once again this young man exceeds our expectations and reached the finals! Will I, the Queen, be welcoming a ne champion!?"

"UWOOH!!! HARUKI! HARUKI! HARUKI!"

People were going crazy and started to shout my name. I felt a little disgusted by their actions. Even though people were fighting and getting hurt for real, we were merely entertainment for them.

Quest update: Coliseum Festival

You have defeated all in your path and now qualify for the final match of the Coliseum Festival. You have an opportunity to prove yourself as the strongest fighter in combat which will grant rewards befitting of one.

Reaching the room I was about to lay Hime down o a bed but I found Sylva waiting for me there.

"How is she?" She asked in a worried tone

"Nothing too serious, I managed to use a simple healing spell on her. Where's Amy? I need her to treat Hime since this is her expertise."

"I told her to wait at Roden's balcony with the other players. Should I call her?"

"No need. Could you just take Hime to her?" I requested

"I guess. But what about you?" She asked while putting Hime on her back

"I'll be fine. She's in no condition to fight anyway..."

"Fighting against two yourself is a certain loss."

"Then I guess I'll lose." I said with a small smile

"Haah, you really should pay more attention to yourself." She said with a sigh

"Maybe. I'll leave her in your care." I looked at her seriously

"Don't worry. Even though the wound looks serious with recovery magic it should be heal quickly." Sylva assured me and walked out of the room.

Finding myself alone in the large room I started to rest and replenished my mana. In the battle earlier I discharged another different colored lightning. This meant that I had some unique kind of magic since I haven't seen anyone else use magic that was affected by the caster's emotions. So far I had used blue, which was my usual type, red, and also yellow.

From using them I somehow knew what the differences was between them. Red lightning was something that surfaced when I felt anger or hate...

It was probably my most destructive type since even the simplest usage dealt damage to myself. Yellow came out but I wasn't sure what emotion was tied to it.

Was it concern? At the moment I was extremely worried for Hime but I'm not sure. At the least it wasn't because I hated those guys. Maybe because I was aware that Hime couldn't be killed in this tournament? Whatever it was, this type of lightning seemed to be flexible and had immobility effects. I think that's why a whip to catch them instantly came into my head when I used it.

The blue type was of course my default. From what I've seen its the most balanced type and doesn't really have any special traits. Since real world lightning was mostly blue in color I would guess that its properties were similar to electricity? Either way looks like my skills are still developing with new uses I could achieve. I should prioritize on increasing my resistance to be able to create stronger skills.

While I was deep in though I realized that it was already time for the finals. Guess this is as far as I go. Heading back to the arena I found two figures were already waiting for me. One of them seemed to say something but I couldn't hear the words. Calmly walking to the center I saw that it was Arran with a girl beside him.

"Haruki? Where is Hime? Is she badly injured?" He questioned with a worried frown

"No, just asleep. It's only going to be me." I announce

As I was saying this I looked up to where the Queen was. Her eyes locked with mine and a grin formed on her lips. No problems from going solo I guess. At least I won't be disqualified. Bu if I had to be honest I was hoping that I was disqualified......

"Then I will also fight alone. Lily, please head back first." Arran calmly said

It as then I had a good look at his partner, Lily. Her face was amazingly similar to Arran's! Even the wavy brown hair and green eyes. The only difference between them was hers had all the features of a girl with long eyelashes and pink lips. She was the exact reflection of him!

"Are you sure, Arran?" Her high-pitched voice rang out

"Yes, It would be dishonorable to fight without equal footing." He said determinedly

"Okay then. Good luck." she smiled at him and left the field

"Is that fine?" I asked hesitantly

"Of course. If it were my sister I'm sure that you would also do the same."

Sister, huh? This guy's situation was similar to mine then. With their resemblance, Arran and Lily were twins if I had to take a guess. At least I was sure of it. They seem to be just like Hime and me.

"Are you ready, Haruki?"

"Yeah."

Stepping back to the front of my entrance I waited for the match to begin.

"Fufufufu, At last we will witness the making of a true warrior! Both parties seem to have an arrangement with this being a duel between two. I find myself shivering at the prospect of such an elegant battle." The Queen again commented before the fight.

Even now her gaze was locked on to me. With expectation clearly in her eyes she watched me as if an eagle watched its prey. Her lips curled into a sweet yet terrifying smile when she noticed me eyeing her with suspicion.

"Warriors! Provide me with the best entertainment possible! I hereby declare the 'Coliseum Festival Finals' to begin!!"

With the match finally starting, I held my sword tight and charged forward to my opponent.

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