Chapter 12

Baako’s eyes shone, he seemed to have finally reached the pinnacle of his strength. His vassals were no longer moving and the bombardment from Seir’s golden arrows had ceased. It felt as if the next attack would be the deciding factor in this bout.

“Hmph, he’s putting it all on the line now.”

“Hyahahaha, time for the foreplay to end. The young Prince has put on quite a show. I doubt there will be many that doubt his abilities now.”

The geezer was right, Seir had demonstrated the extent of his power, Baako’s merciless attacks were unable to break through Seir’s bravado, however, part of me was uneasy. Although Seir was easily able to avoid Baako’s attacks, if you looked close enough at Seir’s brow, you could see droplets of sweat. Despite his usual smugness, every time Seir used a warp circle, or avoided one of Baako’s attacks, it took the utmost level of concentration. The level of demonic energy used, for that barrage against Baako’s vassals was also nothing to sneeze at.

Seir was good at putting on a show, but it must have taken a lot of nerve to avoid flinching in the face of Baako’s relentless assault throughout this battle. I turned toward Alice and Shiro, they both seemed completely engrossed in the match, Alice refused to even blink. Everything had gone to Seir’s plan so far, but it would only take one attack from Baako to turn the tables, that was the kind of fighter he was.

I felt a spike in Alessia’s demonic energy and understood her feelings, we both wanted a piece of Baako’s swordplay. Seir was impressive, but I wanted to exchange blows with Baako. He may have been a Necromancer, but I could tell that he prided himself on his swordplay, more than anything.

Baako and Seir continued to stand in stalemate. As the seconds passed, my ability to breathe depreciated. The bloodlust and sheer pressure that surrounded the arena was almost divine, some members of the crowd even fainted. Just before it became too much for everyone, Baako pounced.

I heard the sound of the ground shatter as Baako leapt toward Seir. A number of warp circles also materialised as soon as Baako pushed off his front foot. Seir’s pupils darted wildly as he tried to pinpoint Baako’s location. I could hear the sound of Seir’s arrows as they made impact with the battlefield, but not a single arrow managed to make contact with the elusive Baako, he was everywhere, yet nowhere. Like the wind itself, Baako was whirling around the entire field, creating a tornado, searching for an opening, for that one gap in Seir’s defense. So he could enter the eye of the storm that he constructed and cut himself a path to victory.

“I can’t see him Alessia, can you?”

“No.”

“Hyahahaha, what did you two expect? This heightened level of speed and power must be taking a lot out of young Baako, I suppose that’s one way of using the power of a Necromancer.”

“W-what do you mean geezer?”

“Hyahahaha, well to put it simply, young Baako is continuously dying and reviving. This heightened level of power is pushing his body to death’s door, but he is immediately reviving and continuing his search for an opening. He’d better find one quick, or he may fall so deep that the spider’s web snaps and he falls into the abyss for good.”

I turned back toward the fight in awe. Baako was pushing himself to a point that sent chills down my spine, yet he soldiered on. The amount of arrows that appeared from Seir’s warp circles were beginning to reduce in number and the malice of Baako’s attack inched closer to Seir. In spite of this development, Seir maintained his composure and continued sending arrows in the direction of where Baako supposedly was.

This exchange continued for a few moments, just when it seemed as if this cycle would never end. I could no longer hear the sound of Seir’s arrows, nor could I feel Baako’s bloodlust, was it over? Did Baako’s body finally give in? If so where was he? The gust of wind and dust that encircled the two combatants disappeared and we gasped at the outcome, Baako stood motionless, the white of his eyes were dim and his pupils were nowhere to be found.

The spider that normally appeared after something like this happened, was absent. In spite of this strange sight, I was unsure as to whether Baako was dead or alive. Seir displayed a look of alertness as he stared down the immobile Baako.

A golden warp circle appeared behind Seir, he was planning to play it safe and fire one last arrow at Baako, to ensure that he ended this battle for good. The Seir family crest rotated rhymically and Seir’s condensed demonic energy materialised through it. However, just as the tip of the arrow peeked through, the warp circle itself oozed black miasma. The tip of the arrow was replaced by the tip of something that we all knew too well, the black miasma widened Seir’s warp circle and Baako’s akrafena shot out of it at lightning speed.

The second that the akrafena smashed through Seir’s warp crest, the frozen Baako wasted away like desert sand after a swift breeze. It was as if he was just a fragment, trapped in time and said time was up.

“Hmph, an afterimage.”

Before I could respond to Alessia’s revelation, Seir finally reacted to this turn of events and began to turn toward the akrafena that was seconds away from cutting a hole through his chest. Seir conjured a warp circle that he himself could fit through to avoid the incoming attack, but this was a mistake. Just when Seir was about to fall backwards through the warp circle, the akrafena that sped toward him also wasted away and Baako himself appeared from the warp circle that Seir conjured to escape. Baako materialised from the warp circle behind Seir and thrust his blade toward Seir’s back. A split second before the tip pierced Seir’s back, an eruption of golden light burst from Seir and blinded everyone. When my eyes finally readjusted to the light, I was met with an unexpected sight.

Seir had coughed up blood, but he wasn’t the only one that did so, Baako also vomited a mixture of saliva and blood. They both stood in place as the crowd starred on speechless. Strangely the tip of Baako’s akrafena was not able to pierce through Seir’s body, but it did appear as if it was lodged deep within Seir’s back.

“*cough* *cough* damnit, I wasn’t...fast...enough.”

With this final statement, Baako fell faceforward. Before he landed flat on his face, Seir turned around and caught his lifeless body. The arena was dead silent as everyone tried to process what had happened, surely this should have been the other way round? Just what had happened?

I looked toward Alessia and the geezer, but they were also unsure as to what had just transpired. We all turned our attention toward Seir and waited for him to say something. Seir gently laid Baako’s body to the ground and stood up straight. He reached for the handle of the akrafena and pulled it out. A small spurt of blood accompanied the dislodged blade, but something wasn’t right. Although the handle was accompanied by a portion of the obsidian blade, a huge chunk of the blade was missing, in fact, the entire top bladed portion was missing.

Seir placed the blade that he just nonchalantly dislodged from his back next to Baako and made eye contact with Sitri, who almost jumped out of her seat. She scrambled to adjust her headset and stood up.

“L-ladies and gentlemen, I-I have no idea what just happened, but it seems that this epic battle has finally reached its conclusion. The winner and undoubtedly everyone’s new favourite wild card, Prince Seir!”

The arena erupted into a thunderous jubilation and applause. Seir stood and watched on as the whole crowd chanted his name. However, contrary to what I had expected, Seir did not basque in this well deserved glory, he instead signalled for the medics to hastily take Baako and his men away. A number of stretchers appeared and Baako and his men were taken away, Seir looked in my direction for a split second and then scurried off after the men and women in white lab coats.

The buzz in the arena increased as everyone discussed what had happened in the last few moments of that battle. I faced toward Alessia and the geezer and waited for one of them to throw their two cents into the discussion, but they both remained silent.

In spite of what had happened at that last second, Baako fought valiantly and deserved nothing but respect for his performance. First Alessia and now Baako, Hell had some monstrous talent. Part of me wondered what the world would be like if either of these two sat atop the Throne of Satan.

“Wahahahahaha, that foolish prince, how many more tricks does he have up his sleeve?”

“What was that old man? Do you know something that we don’t?”

“Is the spider gone Master? I don’t like spiders!”

“Quiet you, care to explain old man?”

“Masuta, Shiko is going to go play with Tia-san, is that OK?”

“Wahahahahaha, as it happens I…”

“I-is the spider gone!?”

“Hey Masuta, can Shiko go? Can Shiko go?”

“...”

I facepalmed and said my farewells to the geezer, Alessia and a flustered looking Mei-Lien. I rejoined Shiro and Alice and we all decided to return to the villa and await Seir’s return there. He probably had a good reason to chase after Baako and he would most likely explain the events of the last few moments of the battle when he got back.

The crowd were still discussing what had happened. The people of hell were saluting Seir’s victory but also applauding Baako’s performance. I took one last look at the arena and made my way through the tunnel and toward the exit. As the sounds of the stadium diminished, I could make out Sitri reminding everyone of the up and coming soiree.

We were almost there, after the semi finals, we would most likely come up against the First Prince’s Household. I took a deep breath and prepared mentally for whatever the Summit had left in store for us.