『Now then, several matches have already gone by in the second round of the fighting tournament. As expected, this year’s tournament is different in many ways. ……What do you mean I say the same thing every year? No, I might have done that before, but I really mean it this year. After all, many famous names are participating in this year’s tournament, including Crimson and Immovable.』

As the commentator’s voice roused the audience, they paused to collect their thoughts.

『However, I’m sure that the people who watched Immovable’s match the day before yesterday must have been dissatisfied as his first round saw it end with his opponent’s self destruction. But……on the contrary, you might remember Crimson’s flashy fight against the warrior with twin curved blades. ……And, the next match is Crimson’s once again! What’s more, his opponent is Adred. Yes, the man who has buried many monsters with his prowess! He’s still only a C rank monster, but that’s only due to his poor behaviour and it’s said that his skill is higher than that of other B rank adventurers!』

The audience already knew what the match up was, but they still grew excited at the commentary. The audience’s anticipation for the battle between Adred and Rei continued to grow.

『On the other hand, Crimson, Rei, is a genuine B rank adventurer! Should we consider that to mean that their skill levels are similar? Or will Crimson show off his ability! Anyway, this looks like it will be a battle you can’t take your eyes off!』

As the voice echoed through the arena, Rei appeared with Death Scythe in hand.

And, as if in response, a man appeared from the opposite doorway.

(Is he……human?)

When they both got onto the arena, Rei couldn’t help but wonder as he faced Adred.

His thought’s weren’t unreasonable. After all, Adred was well over 2m tall, maybe even 2.5m.

No matter how Rei looked at him, he couldn’t believe that Adred was human.

Furthermore, despite his height, his body was well muscled and didn’t give the impression of being lanky at all. Instead it felt like there was a solid wall in front of Rei.

(For a Giant……he’s not that tall. Then, is a half, or something like that? Maybe he has ogre blood in him?)

Like Goblins and Orcs, Ogres could also breed with women from other races. Of course, due to their size, it was rare for a human mother to survive.

Maybe he had Ogre blood further up in his blood line. As he looked at Adred while thinking like that, Adred seemed to think that Rei was looking at him disrespectfully. He glared at Rei as he spoke.

「What is it, you. Is there something you want to say?」

「No, nothing at all. I was just thinking about how to fight against someone as big as you.」

「……Hah.」

Adred grinned as he heard Rei’s words.

A ferocious smile appeared on his lips as he smashed the custom made gauntlets on his arms against each other, creating a high pitched metallic sound.

「I was a little disappointed when I heard a brat like you had a title, but……it seems like I don’t have to worry about that. Let’s do our best in our fight.」

「……Sure.」

Hearing Adred’s words, Rei gained some understanding of his personality.

(Is it some sort of rule in this world that people who use gauntlets as weapons love to fight?)

Thinking like that, Rei readied the Death Scythe in his hands.

「That’s right, it would actually help me a great deal. In order for me to reach higher heights……I need you to give me sustenance.」

「Gahahaha. Using me as sustenance? Be careful, okay? If you mess up, you’ll end up being food for me.」

Although they smiled at each other belligerently, they still held favourable opinions of each other.

Looking at the two of them, the referee judged that it was time. They raised their voice loudly so that everyone outside the arena could hear.

「The match begins!」

With those words as a signal, Adred quickly dashed forward towards Rei.

Rei on the other hand just waited with the Death Scythe at the ready.

Adred closed in at a speed befitting his size as he unleashed his fist.

Rei caught the giant fist, that seemed to shatter the very air, and parried it with the shaft of the Death Scythe.

As the metallic sound of the gauntlet and the Death Scythe collided echoed out, Adred pulled his fist back as if it didn’t matter as he fired out punches rapidly.

But, just like Rei had done in the first round, he continued to parry the attacks.

(Alright. Not just curved blades……swords and fists, I can parry them as well.)

Rei continued to parry the attacks like he did in the first round, and the moment Adred pulled his fists back, he swung the Death Scythe out to match it.

However, it wasn’t with the blade. It was an attack to sweep Adred’s legs from under him using the shaft.

During his practice with Rhodes, it was an attack he had landed many times.

Adred wasn’t that careless and the moment he saw the shaft of the Death Scythe disappear from his sight, he leapt back to distance himself from Rei.

At the same time, the shaft of the Death Scythe swept through the space where his legs had been a moment ago.

「Woah! That’s dangerous, dangerous. There’s something about you that makes it hard to fight against. Is that why you have the title of Crimson?」

Adred said that as he held his gauntlets in front of his facce and Rei smiled back while holding the Death Scythe.

「Well, I don’t know. If you’re curious about what I’m doing, why don’t you stick around just a little longer with me?」

As Rei said that, he pointed at Adred, not with teh blade of the Death Scythe, but the shaft.

(The challenge for this fight is to only use the shaft, not the blade. If I use the blade, I will easily win, but then I wouldn’t be able to hone my staff fighting skills.)

With his immense magic power, there was basically nothing that the blade of Rei’s Death Scythe couldn’t cut through.

The only exception was magic items that could also be empowered with magic power. But, even so, Rei still held an overwhelming advantage due to his magic power.

But, as a result, Rei had also relied too heavily on the Death Scythe’s advantage up until now. With it, he was able to deal with anyone weaker or at the same level of strength as him.

However, it was a different story when it came to fighting someone who was clearly stronger than him. More precise skil would be required.

In order to obtain that skill, Rei had decided to fight Adred this time using only the shaft of the Death Scythe.

……But, of course, when Adred saw that, he felt like he was being looked down on and didn’t find it funny.

In fact, the moment he saw Rei’s stance, Adred’s expression changed from the smile he had a few seconds ago to one that oozed displeasure.

「……Hey, what do you mean by that? Do you think you can afford to go easy on me?」

「It’s not like that. However, we both have our own reasons. It may be unpleasant for you, but I have to fight this battle out like this.」

Saying that much, Rei paused before speaking again with a smile.

「If you really want me to use the blade, you’ll have to push me that far. If you do that, I can’t afford to lose here, so I will use it.」

Those words seemed to stir up his fighting spirit again. Adred flashed another ferocious smile as he clashed his gauntlets together, igniting his spirit.

「Alright then, let’s do it. Here I come!」

With a shout that echoed throughout the stadium, he ran towards Rei once again to close in on him.

Rei followed suit and reading the Death Scythe’s shaft. But, the moment Adred raised his right hand, he leapt away, urged by a tingling bad feeling.

At that same moment, Adred swung his fist, as if punching the air, and something shot out and pierced the space where Rei had been just a moment ago.

「Heh, as I thought.」

Even though Adred’s attack missed, a smile appeared on his lips.

「A skill, huh?」

「Well, that’s the thing. Just because I focus on fighting with gauntlets doens’t mean I can’t use long ranged attacks. You’re also good at magic, right? Then use it to your heart’s content.」

「……I’ll say the same thing I said earlier. If you want me to use magic, you’ll have to push me that far.」

「Hahaha. If that’s what you say. Then……I’ll start right now!」

Adred continued to fire ranged attacks from his fists like before, using them as a deterrent as he closed the distance to Rei.

Even though Rei was surprised at first, it wasn’t that hard to deal with once he saw it.

It was certainly tough that he couldn’t see the attacks directly, unlike fists, but it wasn’t so bad that he couldn’t dodge.

「Try this-!」

He dodging, deflected, and parried the gauntlet attacks. And then, take advantage of an opportunity, he thrust forward with the shaft of the Death Scythe before cleaving out horizontally.

The metallic sound of the gauntlets and shaft clashing against each other echoed out over and over again, turning into a music of sorts.

Kiin-, Kikikikikiin-, Kin-.

Even though the sound gradually grew louder, it never stopped, entertaining the ears of the audience.

However, such a fight could not last forever. Although it was gradual, the difference in pure physical stamina began to emerge.

「Tch, even with my power, I can’t break through your defense. This is so troublesome……-!」

Adred had fallen into the same hole as Anasel, dual blades swordsman, who had fought Rei in the first round.

Since Adred had been swinging his fists and legs rather than a weapon, he was able to maintain his breathing at key points, but it still wasn’t enough in his intense exchange with Rei.

Adred sense that and tried to make some distance, but……

「I’m not going to let you do that!」

There was no way that Rei would miss such a crucial opportunity.

As if matching his words, Rei thrust the shaft of the Death Scythe towards Adred’s body as he tried to leap back.

「Gah-!」

With his instinct as a fighter, Adred managed to twist his body changing the point of contact from the center of his body to his flank.

That way, he managed to avoid being knocked unconscious.

……However, in return, several of his ribs were crushed by the Death Scythe, causing him to let out a shout of pain.

「Hey, hey, hey! Now it’s my turn!」

Rei started swinging around the Death Scythe like a club.

Side sweeps, strikes, thrusts. Rei attacked from all angles.

Adred tried to deflect or avoid Rei’s attacks using his gauntlets, but ultimately, he was running out of stamina and had just taken a big hit to his side.

As a result, although he managed to block the first few attacks, as time went on, he became unable to handle Rei’s offensive.

「Guagh!」

The Death Scythe swept in from the side, breaking his opposite ribs.

If that were all it was, the audience wouldn’t have been that surprised.

But……

『You’re joking, you’re joking, you have to be joking! Adred, who is almost twice as tall as Crimson and probably weighs even more than that, was sent flying! I can’t believe it……even seeing it with my own eyes, I can’t believe it!』

As they heard the commentator’s voice, the audience couldn’t believe what they had just seen either.

As such noise sounded out around him, Rei approached Adred, who was lying on the ground.

「Keh, damn it……what kind of strength do you have?」

Adred tried to stand up while holding his side, where most of his ribs had just been broken.

When he saw that, Rei showed a bit of surprise.

Rei was strong enough to bend metal with his bare hands and the Death Scythe weighed over 100kg.

Even though Adred was wearing some leather armour that was made from some sort of monster skin, Rei hadn’t expected him to still be able to stand up.

(Is this the strength of someone who can make it to the second round of the main tournament?)

Tenacity was certainly an important factor in winning in this long tournament. However, Rei couldn’t afford to lose here……and he couldn’t afford to mess around.

He glanced towards the VIP seats reserved for the Imperial family. There, an image of the Emperor and Noiz, who was supported by the Emperor, could be seen.

Noiz seemed to notice that Rei was looking at him. The corners of his lips moved slightly as a smile appeared on his lips.

Can you get to me? Receiving that meaning from Noiz’s gaze, Rei once again turned to Adred.

「There’s no way I can stick around at a place like this.」

With those words, he swung the Death Scythe again. The shaft sent Adred……a 2.5m tall man, flying off the arena.

「The winner is, Rei!」

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