As the ground grows still, I regain my balance and face my opponent.

"Now, before we start our match I would like to announce our guest for this round. I'm sure you all know her by this point, after all, she's the darling child of the arena. I'm pleased to say we have Umana the three-time champion with us today!" The announcer continues in a slightly more calm tone than before

Thunderous applause and cheers erupt. Uncomparable to my own introduction, she is clearly loved by the crowd.

"Ahhh, even though I was given such a long notice, it still pains me to be introduced as an announcer rather than a fighter. I wonder if I can convince the king to let me fight next tournament?" She wistfully whines over the mic

She isn't allowed to fight? Was she banned or something?

"Oh? Have I done damage to the invincible bulwark? Maybe I should have my go in the ring." The announcer jokes

"Oh? How about we duke it out after this as an exhibition then?" The guest says in a way that feels only half joking

Is she some kind of battle maniac?

"I suppose we should get this match underway shouldn't we?!" The announcer nervously spouts

"Tch!"

"Don't click your tongue! It's what we are here to do!" The announcer bickers

Chuckles poor out of the stands as people enjoy the comedy act.

"Well, I suppose it does seem like an interesting fight." The guest concedes

"And with that, let's get this fight underway! FIGHT!" The announcer quickly shout to set the match in motion

I suppose a countdown would have been a bit too much to ask for, wouldn't it?!

THUMP THUMP THUMP

As if waiting for his moment the giant begins his charge. His speed is faster than I had imagined it would be, but I'm ready. I charge into his legs and attempt to find a haven beneath him.

"And they are off! Let's hope the match doesn't end too quickly!"

"Oho? Maybe the girl has experience fighting larger opponents? Immediately trying to constrict his movements is a nice start."

Just as I reach a blind point, he begins to move oddly. The foot I am hiding behind swings around sharply and knocks me over. It seems like, despite his size, he is dexterous enough to spin on his heel. I'm forced to evacuate the position quickly as a strike immediately targets the place I was knocked down to.

THUNK!!

His fist leaves a dent in the arena floor. I definitely don't want to get hit by that.

"But it won't be enough. The Kolossaal are fighters of great prestige. Despite their appearance, they focus on training their speed and acrobatics to make up for their weak points." The woman comments

I noticed his speed when I saw him take down that Orc, but I didn't think he would be able to move this smoothly. Wasn't he supposed to be a clumsy oaf? How can he pull off such moves flawlessly?

This is going to be even harder than I thought. Let's switch up the plan a bit.

He lunges again towards me again, but I can't seem to figure out how he plans to attack. He is simply running full sprint towards me.

Unable to understand his actions I'm forced to remain defensively in place. Even if I attempted to run away from him, his large strides and superior speed would close any distance I could make in an instance.

"Hup!" He lets out as he does the unthinkable

Moments before he is practically stepping on me he leaps into the air. Soaring above my head and landing behind me.

THUMP!!

When he lands his intention becomes clear. The impact from him hitting the ground launches me into the air, even higher than when he entered the arena.

When he entered the arena earlier, was he testing me as well? Seeing if I would fall victim to this kind of attack?

As thoughts like those rush through my mind, I notice the true horror of this move. The giant prepares a fist yet again, and using the momentum of his fall, twirls around to strike me square in the air with it. With no way to dodge mid-air, I am sent flying at such a speed that I whistle sharply through the air into the arena wall.

"Oh! Debris and smoke fill the arena! She must have hit that wall hard. Well, it was bound to be a short match after all. So miss Umana, how would you ha-" The annoying announcer commentates on my slip up

"Quiet, it's not over yet." Umana corrects harshly, quieting the emerging chatter of the entire audience as they focus on the arena again

THAT HURT! I'm glad I'm not dead, but I'm definitely sore enough that something should be broken! I need to end this quickly. If I take another hit like that, it really will be over. Thankfully with that strike, I'm in the perfect position to begin my secret strategy.

"Please stay down, I don't want to hurt you... You are really nice." The menacing oaf says as he confirms that I'm still standing within the clearing cloud of smoke

"Sorry to tell you, but I'm not as nice as you think!" I yell out to him, goading him to attack

"See? You even try to make me feel better when you have no chance of winning... I'll try to make this quick, so please stay down this time?" He lets out in a soft voice, unbecoming of the violence I'm sure he means to do with the attack he's readying

Perhaps a twinge of irritation passes through me as I feel slightly mocked.

The giant begins his charge again. With me clearly in no state to dodge his quick yet powerful punch, he comes at me with no tricks.

As he nears me I jump as high as I can into the air, throwing the fear that stings every nerve in my body as I see the ground get farther and farther away out of my head for just a moment.

He lets out a smile as he watches my figure rise. It was too early. His fist had not yet been let fly, and as such he simply re-adjust before throwing it out right where I'm going to be.

Or so he thinks.

"Sorry about this," I say as I vault over the approaching fist and lunge myself towards his face

KRTCH!

As his fist lands in the stands now at my back I continue my launch forward throwing my full weight behind my fist as I ready an attack.

Quickly he begins to draw his fist back, and his other hand moves to swat me away but-

IYAAAAAA!

The screams of the crowd stun him in place as he realizes what he's done.

Don't think bad of me alright? I am the Maou after all.

BAAAAM!

...

THUNK!

"...And with one miraculous strike, the seemingly unbeatable first round wonder has been felled!" The announcer screams out as the giant's unconscious body hits the floor

phew

I put everything into that hit, but I wasn't sure whether that was going to take him down or not. If his defense was anything like his attack than I would have been defeated for sure. After all, it's not like an attack like that would have worked twice.

"She used the crowd to stun her opponent?... An interesting strategy. She might be fun to fight after all." Umana lets out in a curious and slightly creepy tone

"It certainly did seem that way. This, however, isn't strictly against the rules. We remind people every year that watching these fight can be just as dangerous as being in them at times. Even I've had a bolt of lightning or shrapnel from a blast wiz by my head a time or two. Though we do discourage it, so if fighter Mano doesn't mind, please don't do that again." The announcer says in a disapproving fashion

I don't know what kind of fighters usually come here, but I would have likely died if I didn't do that. Does the announcer think that scolding me is going to make me feel bad about it?

"With that, however, we can certainly call this round a close! Everybody, please take a small intermission while we clean up and repair the arena for the next fight!" The announcer yells out as the stands begin to empty

A small door opens up around where I entered and I can see an arm beckoning me. I let out another sigh of relief as I confirm once again that I actually pulled it off.