CH 41

RAW:  

9: when a battle is portrayed in a 3rd POV it means  an awesome battle awaits you.

Xant: I hate the *sigh* stuff Tifelia does :/

Today is the climax of the Tougi Taikai–the finals. The cheers during the matches before were incomparable to how it is now. Coupled with Tifelia’s popularity, there was even a banner waving “L-O-V-E” displayed there.  Many people had their sights on Tifelia, but the dark horse Ryua was one of the hot stocks.

“The final match is upon us!  No one has won against this person no matter what they do, <Master Knight> Tifelia!  And the girl who reached the finals with great vigor, Ryua!  Whether you cry or laugh, right now in this place, the victor will be decided!”

Tifelia was standing on the Match Grounds, but she was different compared to the matches before; she had a sword her hand, going so far as to picking up her sword from home before the final match, she was feeling that excited. Twilight Bringer is the name of her weapon. A combination of both a skilled craftsman and a rare material produced a weapon that only she can handle; there is only one in the whole world. Seeing that sword, she remembered a tinge of anxiety. Ryua doesn’t know about the sword, but regarding her Mithril Sword, which Amane was hitting, it was not in a good condition. Her sword was full of cracks; can it take on Tifelia’s weapon? Ryua stared at Tifelia, her expression wasn’t like her usual smile, she was facing her with sharp eyes.

“That sword, its condition isn’t looking too good. Is it okay?”

“It’s fine.”

“Is that so……”

Focusing on the air around Tifelia, it was as if the whole coliseum was attacked by a strong wind with her at the center of it.  Spectators screamed as their personal belongings were blown everywhere from the wind.  A crack appeared below Tifelia on the match grounds that were just fixed.

“Umm, you know I don’t understand it.  To go this far………are you looking down on me?  Such a thing hasn’t happened before, that’s why…  I didn’t expect this far…….for my anger to go into my head; I’m irritated.  For my emotions to become something like this…”

Master Knights, or S-rankers, have their pride. Without considering the behavior of her opponent, Tifelia was quietly enraged towards Ryua’s composure.  At a glimpse, she looks gentle, but to tell you the truth, it wasn’t like that at the center of the arena.  Although the words weren’t able to do it, Ryua felt it on her skin.

“Although Tifelia-san didn’t fight that Inoro guy honestly.”

“That’s not true, you know.”

“Lies.”

“It’s not.”

Flatly rejecting it, she was expressionless as she said it.  Her expression showed that she wouldn’t allow any more rebuttals.  It was almost time for the referee to announce the start of the match.  This time, the voices of the noisy live reporter and commentator didn’t reach Ryua’s ears.  Ryua slowly entered an attacking posture.

“Battle start.” Ryua heard those words.  Up until now, her opponent’s strength is extraordinary.  Ryua realized it in an instant as their distance grew shorter.  It was not that she couldn’t catch her speed, but she wasn’t shown that she was serious yet,  Ryua understood that.  “If that’s the case, then I should ask this way.”  Ryua took one swing towards Tifelia.  However, the high-pitched sound of metal chimed; it was stopped.

“It sure is heavy.”

From those murmurs, you couldn’t feel any impatience. Those words were effectively saying, “So that’s all.”

“<Weapon Break>.”

Without a need to even hear that murmur, Ryua evaded the hit.  Ryua understood her weapon would share the fate of Kweed’s blade in an instant due to her ample experience.

“<Burst Braver>.”

Tifelia swung horizontally, and an explosion quickly followed ahead. Ryua wouldn’t be able to evade it.  There was only one way, and that was to take it head on.

“<Sonic Ripper>!”

The vacuum-like wave slashed and shaved off the match grounds while crushing the explosions. Her attention didn’t waver. If she was careless for a moment, Tifelia would land a direct hit on her. However, Tifelia was only defenseless for an instant.

“<Reflect Parry>.”

In only an instant, a barrier appeared before her, erasing the slash.

“…………..So that sword can rival mine this far. I didn’t think that it would make me use <Reflect Parry> in this situation. Your attack was strong enough that my barrier was unable to reflect it…..”

“You too Tifelia-san, just how many techniques do you have…”

“Who knows?  After going over 100, I stopped counting.”

Just now, she wasn’t able to properly measure Ryua’s strength, but that was the reason for her carelessness. The other Master Knights would scold her for her mistake, but at the same time, Ryua was verified as a worthy opponent. She licked her lips and silently looked at Ryua. With the glossiness of her lips, Ryua had a bewitching image of her.

Up until now, the spectators would be holding out one hand while watching, but right now, their hands came to a halt. Everyone on the Venue was confident that Tifelia would win. However, trying to open the cover and see, their breaths were overwhelmed by the development. Their curiosity regarding that one girl called Ryua had strengthened even more.

“Se-Seigel-san.  Tifelia sure is strong-”

“Of course she is, but it feels like Ryua is on par with her.”

Roel’s drink containers had accumulated over time, but her drinking stagnated once the match started. Cynthia was also rooted to her spot, as if praying.

“*Sigh*…If I knew it was going to be like this I would’ve worn my armor…Your sword there, maybe this will be a tie?”

Ryua had not been truly serious so far. She has never and will never be able to seriously take out a human. It’s probably something from her childhood; whenever she gets close, she would suddenly stop. The earlier <Sonic Ripper> was much weaker than when she fought Vanda Lucia. If it stays like this, then she may not be able to end it. Thinking along those lines, she became a little more serious.

“Tifelia-san.”

“Yes?”

“The rest of this fight won’t be like earlier.”

“Ufufufufu, I wonder how many years it’s been since I received such a warning…ufufufu…”

Once again, she licked her lips. Responding to Ryua’s words, she pointed her sword at Ryua. Tifelia had a stance saying she would receive whatever Ryua threw at her. Packing power into her feet and kicking the ground, Ryua closed the gap in an instant.

“….Tsu!”

“Here goes!”

It was quite different from the attack Ryua had originally used. Tifelia didn’t show a surprised expression. She had waited for this, but she had been careless.

For a very long time, spanning from months into years, Tifelia had not fought anyone that put her life in danger. From a young age, her father neglected her, and not a single person interacted with her. Becoming strong was fun for her. By persevering, she was slowly able to attain the strength she longed for. Merely by seeing a master swordsman use a skill, her ability to imitate bloomed. After some time, she was called out by a master swordsman living at the Imperial Court. Even he was defeated. No matter the technique or opponent, nobody could suppress the flame that was Tifelia. Before realizing it, she had become a <Master Knight>.

—-I wonder when fighting became uninteresting…

Ryua’s <Mithril Sword> clashed with Tifelia’s <Twilight Bringer> while Tifelia was reminiscing about her past. On contact, the <Mithril Sword> and <Twilight Bringer> broke. The mithril blade spun in the air, making a metallic ringing as it hit the platform. The colosseum went silent. Ryua stopped her pursuit and Tifelia merely stood in place while staring at her <Twilight Bringer>.

“For a mere Mithril Sword to break this…absurd.”

She took down her defenseless arms. Ryua, standing before Tifelia, readied her fist and took a stance once again.

“It’s not just sheer strength…Other than this crazy conclusion, everything else is unnecessary. Fufufu…I apologize for not wearing any armor.”

“Even without my weapon, I will still fight.”

Ryua was still raring to fight. Tifelia released her broken blade, letting it drop to the ground.

“Once more, in the future, I want to try and properly fight against you. I give up.”

Tifelia bowed her head. Ryua’s eyes went wide in shock, stunned by those words. The referee was flabbergasted and couldn’t make sense of the situation.

“I lost, you know? I give up.”

Once again, Tifelia politely bowed. The entire venue started spitting out questions. Tifelia’s loss was quickly declared, and her fans started making a racket.

“It really is starting to turn noisy. Referee-san, please hurry.”

“A-ah. Is it really fine?”

“You don’t need to confirm it.”

“W-well then, the champion is…Ryua!”

If Tifelia won, high pitched cheers may have been raised. There was only a sorry amount of applause and a small amount of praises that wrapped the Colosseum.

“*Sigh* I’m exhausted…”

The first one who didn’t understand was Ryua. This person still wasn’t serious, so she needs to know what her real intentions are. Like an incomplete combustion, Ryua couldn’t think of any other words but the situation was really like that.

“Why is it like that…the swords only broke.”

“ time, please bring a proper weapon. I will also wear the armor <The Genuine Article of the Master Knight> and then I will go for it. Moreover, the two of us must not get serious here…ufufufufu.”

Tifelia teasingly laughed, the feeling from her earlier was totally gone. It was the usual silly woman. Ryua exerted strength on her shoulder.

“Did you understand that I wasn’t serious?”

“Oh my, I’m being looked down upon. For sure, I didn’t receive your seriousness…fufu.”

She gave a deviating reply. Tifelia was giggling and laughing. “We can both get serious” it was sure to be like that, Ryua gave a single nod. If Ryua got serious right now, even the spectator seats would get bisected. It was like that during the time with Vanda Lucia; if she fought a little bit longer, the caves would start making things dangerous. Basing on that and even this fight, Ryua may have been unconsciously saving her power.

“Umu, it looks like it ended.”

The king stood up from his throne. He didn’t plan to rebuke Tifelia’s loss. It was not like the previous years where she sometimes wanted to participate; she came and reported her purpose this time. Just by understanding that, he was satisfied. Certainly, to discover the outstanding talent called Ryua, he was pleased.

“Just as I thought, it was Ryua’s win!”

“Y-yeah.”

That Tifelia admitted her own loss, Seigel was still unable to believe it. However, Roel Cynthia and the soldier girl named Ritta sitting beside him didn’t mind that fact and were only delighted and celebrating Ryua’s victory. “Hurray, Hurray” the 3 of them were in high spirits, that’s why the seniors Seigel and Gantetsu were acting like they didn’t know them.

“Well…let’s say that I’m not that young anymore.”

“Yeah…I’ve already become an old man.”

Before long, the Tougi Taikai had begun it’s closing ceremony. Above the Match Grounds, the speech regarding the long battle of the brave warriors was happening. The podium was decorated with exaggerated ornaments, and inside the king was laying in wait.

“S-somehow I might be getting nervous.”

“Now now, hurry hurry.”

Tifelia was half teasing Ryua by pushing her back. Tifelia was aimlessly swaying. Thinking that, she got dizzy. In the next moment, Tifelia collapsed.

“Eh-”

Turning around, Ryua saw it. Tifelia was sweating profusely and breathing painfully. The Colosseum made a commotion.

“Haa…Haaa…a-u…”

She somehow stood up, and again she felt dizzy and falteringly fell down. Amane and Rupee, whose wounds were healed, supported her and stood her up.

“What’s with this? She has such a terrible fever!”

Amane held her hand to Tifelia’s forehead. Tifelia’s breathing started to roughen, Rupee applied a status abnormality recovery magic on her, but the situation didn’t change.

“No, thinking about it, there is no meaning in doing it…her status abnormality resistance should’ve been able to resist it.”

—–at once, one person from the spectator seats noticed ‘them’.

Pointing his finger to the sky and shouting, what he pointed at was the countless shadows of Pterosaurs. One of the beast’s wings was abnormally wide, there was something strange looking mixed in.

“Y-your majesty! A swarm of monsters!”

“Don’t panic! Deploy all hands to combat stations! In accordance to the plan, the people on standby, don’t be negligent on taking the spectators to the refuge! Hurry!”

The king’s bodyguard, Kirkton, was giving orders. In accordance to the plan, a large force of soldiers came in from behind the spectator seats. Before the chaos intensified, the spectators were to be peacefully guided. However, screams buried the whole colosseum, running out of time, it didn’t go well. If it’s like that, then the guiding was useless. The soldiers were pushed aside and the crowd ran up to the exit.

“Monsters! Monsters! Oi, get out of the way!”

“No way, don’t push!”

“Just was is with that!? What are the Kingdom’s defenses doing!?”

At the center of the chaos, the bowmen soldiers struck back, but they weren’t able to hit the moving targets. With sharp talons and a large build, it crushed the soldiers, scattering fresh blood.

【A swarm of <Wind Dragon>s appeared! HP: 4339】

【A cluster of <Dragon Blaze> appeared!　HP: 3471】

【A flock of <Red Scissors> appeared!　HP: 1755】

【A herd of <Kaiser Eagle> appeared!　HP: 3210】

Dragon. Insect. Bird.

They were all of different races, but they each possessed wings and a merciless attitude towards the fleeing prey. Moreover, among those monsters there are 3 people with their respective shadows.

“The signal looked like it was really late but-”

“Isn’t it fine? Even the Master Knight was sealed and all that was left are the small fries, right? More than that, I’m aching to fight with that rumored Dragon Hunter.”

“Aaa, shut up shut up shut up. I can’t hear my cute bugs’ flapping wings.”

Among the 3, one shadow flew forwards with red scissors, scaring the escaping spectators.

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