『Now then, it’s time for the next match. ……You all know who it is, right? Are you looking forward to it? Are you looking forward to it? After all, it’s Crimson’s turn again, one of the favourites for the tournament. He can freely wield his giant scythe as well as his specialty fire magic. Well, what kind of battle will we see today?』

The voice of the commentator echoed throughout the stadium.

Hearing the commentator’s voice, the excited audience, who had just finished watching the previous match, were riled up again.

The previous match was also one worthy of the main tournament, which was what made the next match even more exciting.

Rei was also an adventurer from the Mireana Kingdom, a long time enemy of the Bestir Empire, the Crimson that had become their mortal enemy after the Spring War.

However, the cheers that spread out through the stadium didn’t seem to make Rei feel any negative emotions.

Part of the reason was that in past matches, Crimson……Rei, had fought very flashily, surprising the audience.

Of course, that didn’t mean that all the audience had lost their resentment of Rei. For someone who had lost a relative, there was no way they would forgive Rei so simply.

But with all that said……most of the cheers in Rei were still in anticipation of Rei’s match.

Guided by the cheers, Rei appeared from the player entrance.

He was wearing his Dragon Robe as usual with his 2m scythe in hand.

He glanced around and, before he knew it, there were more cheers than boos and he gave a small smile as he made his way onto the arena.

『And, Crimson’s opponent is Rhodes, another adventurer from the Mireana Kingdom. He has been introduced several times already, but he is the son of the Axe of the Thunder God and a fellow party member. His strength is definitely first class. Introducing Rhodes, the adventurer praised for his sharp thrusts!』

With that voice, Rhodes appeared with a slightly nervous but energetic expression on his face.

He wore his usual equipment, leather armour and a long sword.

Rei and Rhodes faced each other on the stage.

「I’ve been waiting for this moment to come. I never thought I’d make it this far in the tournament.」

「Really? If things didn’t work out, we might not have met unless it was the finals. Considering that, I think meeting in the third round is quite good.」

「……I will defeat you.」

Rhodes’ eyes were full of determination as he held the long sword he had drawn from his sheath. Rei also readied the Death Scythe as he replied.

「I don’t intend to lose so easily, so feel welcome to fight as hard as you want.」

Silence filled the arena as Rei was surprised by the fighting spirit mixed into Rhodes’ gaze towards him. Rei prepared himself to respond to anything Rhodes might do.

It seemed like the referee felt they had enough pre-match discussion. The referee’s voice echoed from outside the arena.

「The match starts, now!」

With that signal, Rei waited for Rhodes’ attack.

(I wasn’t able to use my counters yesterday in the end. I guess I’ll try it again.)

Rei muttered to himself as he readied his Death Scythe to match Rhodes’ actions, but……Rhodes just observed Rei’s actions without making any moves of his own.

They stood motionless, looking at each other, for several seconds with weapons at the ready. Eventually, Rei spoke up to provoke Rhodes.

「What’s wrong, aren’t you going to attack? It’s a special arena, so I’ll give you the lead, how about it?」

「……That’s right. Then……here I come!」

With those words, Rhodes dashed forward as he closed the distance to Rei.

He started with thrusts as if it were a greeting.

Continuous thrusts was something Rhodes was good at. It was also a technique he had used against Rei many times before.

However, it had all been during practice, including mock battles. This was the first time he had unleashed his full power in the true sense of the word.

His speed was the same as during their practice and so was his power.

Still, perhaps because of the difference between real combat and practice, Rhodes’ continuous thrusts were filled with a level of fighting spirit one step higher than in their mock battles.

Rhodes’ thrusting attacks were definitely a technique that could be considered top class. But……

「Gwaaah-!」

It wasn’t Rei who screamed in pain as he was blown away, but rather Rhodes, who had been the one to attack first.

Rhodes’ leather armour was torn apart and there were various marks left all over it as well.

Of course, Rei was the one to do that.

When the audience’s eyes turned towards Rei, they saw Rei in a stance with the shaft of the Death Scythe pointing forwards.

「Damn it, you’re still a monster.」

「Is that so? It’s not something that unusual.」

Rhodes stood up from his fallen position while muttering in frustration.

Many people in the audience couldn’t understand what Rei had done, but Rhodes gave them the answer.

「Are you saying that after countering all my thrusts with your own? Yeah, I’m sure the technique itself isn’t that uncommon. But, when you do it Rei……I’m not happy even after you say it.」

The audience started buzzing after what Rhodes said.

Even when viewed from the audience seating, Rhodes’ thrusts had been fast.

Most of them couldn’t even see Rei’s counters.

However, Rei replied with a wry smile as he faced Rhodes, who was checking his leather armour.

「If that’s what you’re talking about, I think it was quite good of you to judge which attacks you couldn’t avoid and to block it with your armour.」

「Hmph, if you had used the Death Scythe properly, it would have been a pointless method of defending. I’ve seen what you’ve been doing in the tournament for a while now and I knew it. You’re not really fighting, are you? ……Well, to be exact, you are fighting while setting extreme restrictions on yourself.」

「Well, what do you think?」

Upon hearing Rhodes’ words, Rei shrugged while holding the Death Scythe.

Even so, the opponents he had fought before had also been able to see through it, so it was no surprise Rhodes could see it as well.

However……

「Well, that’s fine. I just need to beat you. I don’t have to beat you at full power.」

Rei was slightly surprised by Rhodes’ words.

This was because he had thought Rhodes would ask him to fight seriously.

That said, Rei quickly got rid of his smile as he readied the Death Scythe.

「If you want to beat me, just show it. I won’t let you do it so easily though.」

Despite saying that, Rei didn’t show any signs of moving.

He just waited for his opponent to make the move first, aiming for a counterattack.

Rhodes seemed to realise that after his earlier thrusting attacks. Still, he held his long sword as he moved around looking for an opening.

As if in response to those movements, Rei also shifted his legs to match the direction that Rhodes was circling in.

Neither of them showed any flashy moves and time passed slowly.

Normally, in a situation like this, you would hear jeers from the audience, but right now there was a strange tension on the arena that spread to the audience in the stadium.

As Rhodes continued to circle around Rei……

「Haah-!」

Rhodes moved, seemingly unable to bear the tension any further.

It wasn’t a thrusting attack like before, but a slashing attack.

However, Rei caught the attack with the shaft of the Death Scythe as he pushed it towards the butt of the shaft.

「Huh-!」

「Uooh-!」

Rei threw a counter using the same motion from when he parried Rhodes’ attack.

Just before the Death Scythe’s blade reached Rhodes’ right arm, he reflexively shifted his body, avoiding the attack.

It was a really fine line to avoid such an attack and if his reaction had been delayed for even a moment, his right arm would have been severed by the blade of the Death Scythe.

But……he still paid a hefty price.

As a result of forcibly shifting his body, he was able to avoid losing his right arm. Unfortunately, his forehead suffered a light slash instead.

It was certainly a small injury to receive in place of losing his right arm. However, the blood that flowed from his forehead blocked the vision in his right eye.

「Damn it.」

Rhodes leaped back to distance himself from Rei as he wiped the blood from his eyes.

However, the wound seemed deeper than he had expected and the blood didn’t stop flowing.

Fortunately for Rhodes, Rei had limited himself to fighting only with counters in this battle. Because that, Rei, who was intent on waiting, didn’t move and Rhodes was able to take out a potion from a pouch at his waist.

Since participants could use magic items freely, potions could also be used. However, as matches were one on one battles and no one would wait for their opponent to heal themselves, there was often no chance to use healing potions……in that sense, Rei plan of fighting this match aided Rhodes greatly.

Rei just watched Rhodes treat his injury, partly because he still wasn’t fully comfortable with how to use his counters.

It must have been a pretty high class potion. Just by opening the bottle and sprinkling a small amount on his injury, the wound on Rhodes’ forehead closed up in an instant and the blood naturally stopped as well.

Of course, part of the reason was the the wound itself wasn’t that deep, but the audience was still surprised by the potion’s effectiveness.

「Phew……」

Rhodes took a deep breath as he gulped down the remaining potion in one gulp.

At that moment, his expression changed to a bad one, clearly indicating how nasty the potion tasted.

Drinking potions were certainly effective. It even provided a sustained healing effect for a period of time. But……in return, potions tasted really bad.

The taste was so bad that after drinking it, Rhodes sense of taste was completely numbed and he probably wouldn’t be able to taste the food he ate for a while.

Still, to Rhodes, it was something he was willing to suffer if he could passively heal from his injuries when dealing with someone at Rei’s level.

「Huu……h-here I come!」

Suppressing the nausea from the bad taste of the potion, he gripped his long sword as he closed the distance to Rei.

Perhaps because of the passive healing effective from the potion, the speed of his thrusts was even faster than before.

「UOOOOOOH-!」

His long sword struck out with great force as he aimed at Rei’s left shoulder.

「The same attack!」

His attack, which was made in an exaggerated manner, was caught by the shaft of the Death Scythe as it was deflected towards the butt end. Opening space, the Death Scythe’s blade cleaved in from the side.

With so much brute force in Rhodes’ attack, it was only natural that his defense was sloppy.

With a flash, the Death Scythe tore apart Rhodes leather armour.

The only reason why it didn’t touch his body was because of how bold Rhodes had been.

「URAAAAAAAAH-!」

Rhodes touched his belly for a moment, but realising that only his armour had been damaged, he immediately slashed out at Rei again.

it was an attack that could only be considered reckless, but since the difference in their ability was so clear, he had no choice but to go overboard. In fact, if they had fought properly, Rhodes would have been at a disadvantage no matter what, so he stood no chance of beating someone better than him without being a little reckless.

Rei was now on the recieving end of such an attack. He parried the blow from Rhodes, creating an opportunity for him to counter as he reached an understanding in his mind.

(I see, it’s true that you need to take risks when fighting someone better. It might be too much of a stretch to beat someone better without taking any risks. ……But!)

As Rhodes made another powerful attack, Rei parried it with the shaft of the Death Scythe as he shouted.

「There is no way I’ll let you do that so easily!」

Rei’s parry left a huge opening as Rei responded with a powerful attack of his own.

The counter exploited the opening that Rhode’s attack had left.

His attack was also even sharper that the one Rhodes had made.

With a flash of light, all that was left in Rei’s hands was the sensation of cutting through flesh and bone.

At the same time, Rhodes’ left arm flew away from away from the elbow.

「Gah-!?」

「Go to sleep.」

After that attack, Rhodes could help but hold down his left elbow with his right arm, while still holding onto his sword. Taking advantage of that, the shaft of the Death Scythe was swung horizontally, breaking Rhodes’ ribs and sending him flying as Rhodes collapsed to the ground.

「That’s it! The winner is, Rei!」

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