Chapter 5

A moment had passed since I grabbed the attention of everyone in attendance and then, I resumed plummeting downward…

“W-what the hell old man!”

“Wahahahahaha...Well, what did you expect foolish boy? You have to crawl before you walk and you have to jump before you fly. Wax on wax off.”

“W-what did I tell you about using references that you don’t understand!? Damn it, this is so embarrassing…”

I continued my descent. I saw everyone’s pupils move downward as I got closer to the battlefield below.

A few feet before I was about to make impact with the ground, I surrounded myself in the old dragon’s wings and managed to avoid taking any unnecessary damage. However, I still felt the vibration of making contact with the floor. I gingerly unwrapped the wings and discovered that I had created a huge crater beneath me.

I got to my feet and dusted myself off. A few agonising seconds of discomfort passed and then, the entire arena erupted into laughter and jubilation.

“Hahahahahahaha, where were you Nero!?

“The Summit isn’t the same without you!”

“Sabrina, was totally missing you, teehee!”

“I was not! I-I mean, ladies and gentlemen. It appears as if Kuro of House Seir, has somehow and rather stupidly landed in the middle of the battle area. I am therefore left with no other alternative, than to disqualify Prince Seir and give the first match victory to the head of the Belith House! I think I speak for everyone, when I say such an idiotic and overall moronic display by…”

“Lay off me will ya!”

Sitri ceased her perpetual bad mouthing and the crowd finally returned from complete hysteria. Seir and his opponent were standing motionless and it felt like nobody really knew what to do next.

Finally Seir’s opponent made a move and took off her helmet. The moment she did, my suspicions were confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt. It was her, it was Alessia.

“What’s this!? Ladies and gentlemen, this is the first time that we have had the privilege to bare witness to Baroness Belith without her battle helmet on. Despite being nowhere near as bewitchingly beautiful as myself, I can…”

“Commentator, I wish for the match between myself and Prince Seir to continue. We can completely ignore the events of the past few moments.”

“Eh? I’m sorry Baroness, but rules are rules. As official adjudicator, I have no choice than to…”

“Ahahaha, actually, there’s no need to disqualify me, I surrender this match...”

The whole arena was taken aback again. I guess they had thought that Seir would put up more of a resistance in relation to being disqualified as a participant from this summit clash.

Seir began walking back toward Alice and Shiro, leaving me with an expressionless Alessia. Before Seir was out of earshot, Alessia spoke.

“If you leave now Prince Seir, your household will no longer stand a chance.”

“Ahahaha, many have underestimated my Kuro in the past. You should really look at the facts before you make statements like that.”

“Who’s your Kuro!?”

Seir smiled once more and then waved at us while walking back to our side of the arena.

“Looks like that’s that folks! It appears that Prince Seir has yielded, prior to having to face the destructive onslaught of Baroness Belith. However, hold on to your seats and do not attempt to adjust your television set. Following this shocking turn of events, everyone’s favourite bumbling bumpkin Kuro, will be taking on the beautifully boisterous baroness instead! I for one, can’t wait to see how things unfold.”

The crowd roared in anticipation of this clash and Sitri left the conflict zone and proceeded to signal the start of the fight. I materialised Bahamut overcoat 2.0 and braced myself for Alessia’s charge. From what I remembered of her swordplay at that bastard’s burial site, I was in for one hell of a battle.

“So you avoided those ruins after all, I suppose you’re not as foolish as I thought.”

“So you were of the Belith House. I was wondering why the only time you fumbled was when you were giving me your name. Although, I never expected you to be Baroness Belith herself. It also explains how you know so much about me.”

“B-big bro! Tia has to help Alessia-chan OK? So Tia can’t hold back against you. Alessia-chan said that if I help her defeat your master. She will force your master to relinquish you to her, so we can be together forever.”

“Wahahahahaha, come then little Tiamat, show your big bro how much you’ve grown. Most of the damage will be felt by the foolish boy anyway.”

The old dragon was going back and forth with Tiamat, however something she just said gave me an idea.

“Oh? So you’re after old man Bahamut are you? We both know it’s not possible to force me to hand him over. Let’s make things interesting shall we? I challenge you to a duel. If you win, you can take ownership of the contract that binds old man Bahamut to me, as well as my other familiar Morgana. If I triumph, then I get Tiamat and the birdbrain.”

“E-eh? Morgana-san?”

“So you did venture into those ruins.”

“There’s no time to dwell on that Alessia, what’s your answer?”

“Kukuhkuh, mistress, this humble servant wishes to voice his opinion. This wager is hugely in your favour, having another two of Lord Lucifer’s familiars would substantially assist you in achieving your ambitions.”

“Looks like birdbrain’s got some brains after all. What will it be Alessia? Do you consent to a duel with our familiars on the line?”

Alessia seemed to be deep in though. I don’t know why she told Tiamat that she could force me to give up the old man. It was probably so that Tiamat wouldn’t have a problem with justifying the “destruction” adjective in her name and would go all out against her “big bro”.

“Very well.”

We approached each other and shook hands. This simple act of courtesy sealed our bet. The only way for me to not lose Bahamut and Morgana now, was to defeat Alessia, or for her to void the contract following her victory. The latter wasn’t something I could count on though.

Alessia brandished her blade and stood at the ready. Judging by her stance, she planned on using a combination of one and two handed strikes. She was draped in a yellow aura. Her blade, despite the navy blue steel, also gave of the same radiance.

I took a deep breath and braced myself for her assault.