Rhodes leapt back to avoid the blade that sliced through the air towards him.

The blade swept right in front of him……barely 10cm away, causing cold sweat down his back as he swung the long sword in his right hand to deflect the blade.

A violent metallic sound echoed out from the arena.

Just like that, the sword that Rhodes deflected flew into the air, spinning around……before coming to a sudden stop.

……Yes. Even though his opponent hadn’t caught the sword, the sword had still stopped moving in mid air. As it floated 2m up in the air, Rhodes’ opponent, Cerone, pointed the tip of the sword towards Rhodes.

「Tch, so troublesome……」

「Hehe~, I guess so. I would like to express my admiration for you, who has been able to overcome the attacks of Air Greed, this magic sword that can move freely through the air as I wish, after only seeing it for the first time.」

Rhodes clicked his tongue at his opponent’s theatrical display.

Air Greed. The supposed name of the magic sword Cerone spoke of, flew freely through the air as it launched attacks against Rhodes.

It would look like it was falling from above, but just before hitting the ground, it would rise up again as the tip bounced back up.

Furthermore, it would attack Rhodes while spinning around and just when he thought he had avoided it, the hilt would swing towards the back of his head.

It was literally attacks from all 360 degrees around him. Rhodes couldn’t help be be confused at fighting such an opponent for the first time.

「It’s true that your magic sword is troublesome to deal with. But……are you just going to stand there and watch, leaving everything to your magic sword?」

At Rhodes provocative words, Cerone shrugged his shoulders in an exaggerated manner.

「Yes, is there anything wrong with that? This is how I’ve won so far and I intend to win this match as well, of course, and all the matches after.」

「……Even if you win, it will be due to the power of your magic sword, not your own……!」

Without waiting to finish his words, Rhodes tried to close the distance to Cerone in one go.

Rhodes’ long sword was a first class weapon, but it by no means a magic sword, it was just an ordinary weapon. That was why for Rhodes, who had honed his own skills, fighting someone like Cerone felt disgusting.

「Hah-!」

While taking sharp breaths that almost sounded like whistling, he twisted his body to the side. The next moment, the magic sword flew right past him. Taking that as an opportunity, he quickly closed the distance to Cerone.

The only weapon his opponent had seemed to be the magic sword. Making that judgement, he swung his sword towards Cerone’s body, but his attack was immediately by a dagger that Cerone took out from his pocket.

His actions were smooth, proving that Cerone wasn’t someone who had gotten to his current position solely through the strength of his magic sword that could fly through the air.

「That is such……a shame-!」

Parrying Rhodes’ attack, his movements changed as he thrust the dagger directly towards Rhodes.

「Damn it!」

At the unexpected turn of events, Rhodes clicked his tongue and jumped back to distance himself from Cerone.

At such a close distance, Cerone had the advantage over his long sword.

However……

「Is it good for you to stay away from me?」

As he heard Cerone’s voice, which carried a hint of a smile, Rhodes instantly swung his sword.

At the same time, a metallic sound rang out.

Rhodes let out a breath of relief, thinking to himself that his intuition was still working.

However, his relief only lasted a moment. The magic sword flew out again as it attacked Rhodes over and over again.

Rhodes was able to deflect, parry, or dodge all the attacks, but his strength was limited and he had no magic sword of his own. There was no need to think about who held the advantage.

……Rhodes himself didn’t realise it but the magic sword, Air Greed, used Cerone’s magic power to fly through the air. Because of that, if he continued to defend himslf, Cerone’s magic power would eventually run out, causing the sword to return to Cerone. That said, it was impossible for him to see through it in such a short period of time.

In addition, Cerone naturally knew the weakness of his own magic sword. For that reason, every now and then, he would bring his sword flying back to him, grasping the hilt to replenish its magic power as he made a show of theatrical movements.

「……Well, I’m getting tired of just doing the same thing and I’m sure the audience is as well. So, I’ll be deciding this match soon, do you mind if I do?」

「I’m sure you don’t mind…….hah!」

Rhodes shouted out as he deflected the magic sword flying towards his body from the right.

However, Cerone had no need to hear out Rhodes reply as he closed the distance with dagger in hand.

「Damn it, then……this is it!」

Looking behind him for a moment, he saw Air Greed flying towards him as he moved forward to meet Cerone, who was also coming towards him.

Since the two of them were moving towards each other, the distance between them quickly vanished.

If things continued as they were, they would end up colliding straight on. However, there was still a smile on Cerone’s lips.

(Is he going to avoid Air Greed’s attack from behind just before it hits him so that it hits me instead? Do you think no one has thought of that before?)

It was a strategy that many people had thought of when fighting against Air Greed controlled by Cerone. As a result, he was already used to dealing with that.

However……Rhodes’ next action completely exceeded Cerone’s expectations.

Rhodes, closing the distance, drew out his long sword and, using his opponent’s momentum, launched a thrust towards Cerone.

It wasn’t the consecutive thrusts that Rhodes was best at……instead, it was a single thrust containing all his might, all his strength into one attack.

「NUOH-!」

Such an action was completely out of Cerone’s expectations, causing a momentary delay in his response……and that moment created a fatal opening.

He desparately tried to parry the attack with his dagger, but due to the full force of the thrust, he was unable to parry it, and the tip of Rhodes’ long sword pierced into Cerone’s body.

Since Cerone’s combat style prioritised quick movements, he was only wearing leather armour made from monster leather.

The thrust with all of Rhodes strength was more than enough to pierce through it.

「ARGH-!」

Cerone let out a groan from the unexpected shock and the intense pain he felt a moment later. Without missing the opportunity, Rhodes moved his sword that was still inside Cerone’s body. As he cut through Cerone’s organs, he also swung him around, swapping their positions……yes, as if using him as a shield against Air Greed

In the end, what Rhodes did was exactly what Cerone had expected. Using Cerone as a shield against the incoming Air Greed.

The difference is that he pierced Cerone’s body first to leave him a position where he couldn’t move.

「-!?」

Cerone seemed to realise his current situation. He tried to stop Air Greed, which was going to hit him, but the magic sword had already been flying at a speed that tore through the air for several seconds. There was no way it would be able to stop so suddenly……

「Ugaah-!」

In the end, Air Greed pierced his body, right beside where Rhode’s long sword had pierced him, causing two swords to be stuck in him, front and back.

「Kugh-!」

The impact from Air Greed caused the wound from Rhodes’ long sword to spread even further, making Cerone spit blood.

「That’s it! The winner is, Rhodes!」

The referee’s voice echoed throughout the stadium, announcing Rei’s victory.

At the same time, the referee ran towards Cerone, who had been stabbed by two swords and, leaning Cerone’s weight against Rhodes, shuffled the two of them to the edge of the arena before pulling out the two swords and moving them off the arena.

Moving Cerone off the stage immediately after taking out the two swords caused his injuries to instantly heal.

「……Many people have tried using me as a shield, but I never expected to be stabbed in the belly and become unable to move.」

The feeling of being injured and his injuries healing back up caused Cerone to smile bitterly as he stroked the area where he had been hurt.

「No, it took a lot of effort to get your magic sword to that position as well. It was only a last resort.」

「A last resort……still, it’s amazing that you were able to think of something so quickly. As expected of someone with the blood of Axe of the Thunder God.」

Rhodes had a slightly complex expression upon hearing those words. Cerone smiled and patted him lightly on the shoulder before leaving.

Seeing Cerone leave, Rhodes also headed towards the door he had entered through.

(Alright. Next. I can finally fight Rei.)

(Basking in the cheers of the audience, Rhodes became aware of the fighting spirit within him.

 

 

After Rhodes’ match, the next one began.

「It’s hard to believe I would run into such a bad match up for me.」

Holding her daggers in her hands, she gave a bitter sigh.

What she was looking at was a man in his 30s, wearing metal half plate and wielding a halberd.

From the looks of it, her opponent valued power over speed……that was what Vaycul felt when facing her opponent, Gander, and after exchanging blows, she realised that her intuition was correct.

「Gahahaha. I guess you were unlucky to have me as your opponent. I’m using to fighting people who move about quickly like you.」

Saying that, he spun his halberd wildly to show off his confidence.

Although his movements lacked technique, his power was enough to consider him stronger than other adventurers like him.

(He’s also used to fighting speed oriented opponents like me, so it’s definitely not something I can rely on.)

This had already been proven by the fact that her earlier attacks, relying on her superior speed, had been easily blocked.

She had managed to dodge several attacks as she closed in with her dagger, but all her attacks were blocked by either the halberd or his armour.

It might have been a different story if Vaycul’s dagger was a magic weapon, or if she had a skill that utilised magic power. However, although Vaycul had some skill as a thief, she still just had the skill of an ordinary thief.

Because of that, if her attacks were ineffective, there wasn’t much else she could do.

(Normally, this would be the time for me to use my trump card……but I revealed it too early.)

Remembering the opponent she fought in the first round, she clicked her tongue.

Gander must have watcher her first round fight. Since it was a single elimination tournament, it was only natural to gather information about your next opponent.

As a result, as he had seen how it worked, Vaycul’s hidden weapon trump card wouldn’t catch him out.

「If you’re not coming over, I’ll come over to you!」

Apparently tired of the staring contest, Gander spoke out before closing the distance to Vaycul with his halberd.

He wasn’t moving too quickly, probably due to the weight of his metal armour and weapon.

However, his slowness made Vaycul feel as if a wall was closing in on her, causing her to retreat instinctively.

Realising she had unconsciously taken several steps back, she clicked her tongue at her own actions.

(To lose because of my feelings……that’s unlike me.)

Staring at Gander, who was moving slowly towards her, she took a deep breath……before dashing forward to close the distance.

「-!」

Her dagger swung out without a sound, making it hard for Gander to respond.

Her attacks had no effect on the armoured areas, so she had to aim for the joints. Not the joints on Gander’s arms, that held his weapon……but the joints at his knees.

It was true that preventing her opponent from using their weapon would increase her own safety. However, Gander would have known this and prepared for such attacks.

Her reasoning was that her opponent would be less cautious about those areas compared to the arms that held their weapons, but……

「Naive!」

As she was about to stab her dagger into Gander’s knee joint, she heard a shout before receiving a violent shock that sent her body flying.

A powerful strike.

As she was sent flying, wondering what had happened, she managed to turn her eyes towards Gander and realised that he had swept his halberd up from below, striking her with the shaft.

Immediately after realising that, Vaycul’s body fell to the ground, off the arena.

「That’s it! The winner is, Gander!」

As she heard the referee’s voice, Vaycul lost conciousness.

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