Volume 13 - CH 14

The semi-finals of the arena are approaching.

It was neither Serina nor Ione who remained victorious

It's Jouga.

Well, Jouga's luck was also good, as Serina and Ione crushed each other.

Aside from Serina, who had sealed her Starlight Attack for the match, he would have had no chance against Ione.

「Jouga would win.」

I confidently declared on the VIP balcony.

Sarah and I had worked together to come up with a winning strategy, and we had passed it on to Jouga.

「I wonder if it's true? My 40,000 gold is on the line, you know.」

Letty doesn't seem to believe it though.

「Leave it to me.」

「Leave it to me!」

Me and Sarah assure her.

「Hmm, that sounds interesting. Let's have a look at that winning strategy.」

The king drinks from a bottle of wine and says, "This is a free-for-all", even though it's visible from the outside.

But now everyone in the arena is paying attention to what's going on in the ring. He must have taken that into account.

「Good luck, Jake!」

「Come on, you must win!」

「Jouga~!」

The names of both parties flew through the air of the coliseum one after another, intermingling with their thoughts.

「Now, it's a showdown between two A-ranked parties, the "Black Dragon Slayer" Jake? Will it be Jake, the "Black Dragon Slayer" or Jouga, the "Black Cat of the Wind"? The battle to decide who will win is about to take place!」

The cat-eared girl emcee is on the air, and the fight seems to be ready.

Jouga and Jake face each other in the ring.

「Let's begin!」

The big gong was sounded. I know we're going to win, too, but I won't be able to relax until I see the results. I'm a little nervous.

Take care of my wager, Jouga.

「Okay, it's the semifinals now. Let's go for it!」

Jake was fired up and attacked aggressively as soon as the match started.

「Kkuhh!」

Jouga held his broadsword downward to defend against Jake's attack.

He's not a very good defender to begin with, but it's a tight stance.

「Oh no, oh no, Keep your hands to yourself, or it'll be one-sided! Jouga!」

Saki is concerned and sends her advice. But Juga seems to be completely on the defensive, and doesn't even try to make a move.

「Hey, Alec! That's no good. He's pushing Jouga, he's pushing Jouga!」

Letty is fuming and complaining to me, but she need to calm down and trust her friends a little bit.

「Letty, calm down a little. Both of them are A-ranked, so overall strength is the key here.」

「No, no, no, Jouga's overall strength is lower than him. Isn't it just power and competitive spirit that he have over Jake?」

「Well, I guess so.」

I nodded.

「That's no good!」

「Oh, God. ......」

Fianna looks up to the heavens and prays, but hey, it's not like he's going to go down that easily.

「Oh! He fought back.」

「What?」

Jouga, who had been getting slashed all the time, finally couldn't take it anymore and swung his broadsword to the side and launched a counterattack.

「Hmmm, the side one has a better hit rate and the aim isn't as bad. ......」

Hannah said as she folded her arms, but the problem was the deadly slowness of his speed. Jake only has to quickly backstep backwards and he dodges Jouga's best shot.

「Oraa, one more!」

Jouga stepped forward and stretched his arms to the limit, but he easily ducked.

「Don't forget to defend yourself, Jouga! He's coming!」

I warned him to be careful, but after the attack, he was in a pinch. Jouga must have known that.

「All right, I got it! Give it up.」

Sure enough, quickly and easily, Jake slipped into Jouga's pocket and put his shortsword to his neck.

「Uwahhh ......」

「Oh ......」

Letty and Fianna let out a squeal as if they were done. Surely, most of the people in the arena must have thought, "We've got a winner!".

But.

「Shut your mouth! I haven't lost yet!」

From there, Jouga moved to counterattack with all his might.

「Whoa!」

「All right!」

Jake, you forgot to attack because of your opponent's unexpected move. That was pretty close, but as long as he doesn't attack, there's nothing to worry about.

「Damn, if that's the way it's going to be, next time I'm going to give you exactly what you want!　Prepare yourself, Jouga!」

「Aye! But before that, eat this!」

Unlike usual, Jouga swung his sword in a dexterous "∞" shape and made two consecutive vertical cuts, but there was no sign of hitting Jake at all.

「Is that a technique that Alec made up?」

Letty asks.

「Well, yeah.」

The power-driven Jouga doesn't usually do such a series of moves. Ione also instructed him and taught him some combos, albeit tweaked, so that he could catch even the quickest of enemies. ......

「In this situation, the only thing he can do is hit Jake.」

As Hannah said, Jouga would do it unconsciously without saying anything. He's a reckless guy.

「Damn it, hit it!」

「Haha, where the hell are you aiming? I'm over here! Jouga! Butt-fuck!」

「Oooohhh, Jake, he's overwhelming the challenger! He's mocking him! He hasn't taken a single blow so far! Jouga, on the other hand, is covered in wounds from being slashed all over the place! I think we've found our winner. I'm in a perfect mood for an easy victory!」

The announcer said that if I were in the dungeon and heard something like that, I'd get mad and say.

『Don't think you've won until you've killed your enemy.』

「Tsk, don't think you've won until you've killed the enemy!」

As if Jouga had remembered my little comment, he shouted and kicked. It would have been difficult with a prosthetic leg, but thanks to Letty, his leg is back.

As you can see, Jouga was traumatized when he became a slime, and he frowned, saying he didn't want to remember that.

「Oops!」

Jake was also a warrior who had survived the ninth layer, so even though he didn't expect it, he reacted well and avoided it.

He was completely out of his depth.

I'm sure most of the audience must have thought so.

「This will end this!」

Jake seemed to think so too, and approached carelessly.

Here it is!

This was the only chance for Jouga to finish off his quick enemy as he approached.

「Go, Juga!」

Before I could shout, Jouga had started to move.

「Uooooohhhhh!」

He completely abandoned his defenses and unleashed a side-to-side blow where the opponent couldn't dodge by backstepping.

It was an attack aimed at striking each other.

It was a strike aimed at hitting each other, and it was well within range.

「Heh, I can see right through that!」

But Jake parried it with his shortsword.

「What!?」

「Oi, oi, Jouga, why did you think that I, the "Black Dragon Slayer", was the one who was always avoiding? That's naive of you! I'm the vanguard protecting the rearguard. I can even parry a dragon's claws, you know?」

「Guhah!」

Jake's blow pierces near the throat.

「「「 Jouga! 」」」

I yelp as well. It was a close call.

「Don't worry, Jouga. You're a friend of mine. I've avoided the vital points. It's a place that doesn't bleed easily, so you won't die.」

Jake said while trying to look cool.

「I'm sorry about that, Jake. If you know me, you should know that I'm a man who doesn't give up, you know?」

Jouga smiled wryly as he bled.

「What, idiot, stop it!」

Jake was in a hurry, but his reaction was delayed by the fact that he had a sword in his opponent's neck. No defense, no evasion.

「Oraaaaaa!」

There, Jouga swung his broadsword with all his might.

When he had been raising his level with his prosthetic leg, he had begun to pay more attention to his positioning.

With a prosthetic leg, the second step is inevitably delayed, and the range of the sword's reach is narrowed.

Therefore, Jouga naturally learned the technique of using his upper body to extend his reach even without moving from the spot.

The ability to fight back even when in an unnatural position.

A mind that never gives up, even in adversity.

These were the benefits of losing one of his legs.

Jouga's sword caught Jake's body perfectly.

「Gueh, man, that's foul. ......」

The fallen Jake said with a pained face.

「What? Is that so?」

「No, it's safe! Jouga-san hasn't shown any intention of surrendering until the very end! Doctor stop here! Jake the Black Dragon Slayer is judged to be seriously injured and unable to continue the fight! The winner, "Black Cat of the Wind" Jouga!!!! A rookie wins against a potential winner!」

The referee raised Jouga's arm, and the play-by-play announcer announced in a high-pitched voice.

Its a gut-wrenching victory.