Rei and Zeros. When the duel began, they both did the same thing and closed the distance to each other.

However……despite that, the spot where Rei and Zeros’s weapons clashed was considerably closer to Zeros than the middle point between them.

That meant Rei’s speed far surpassed Zeros’s.

Furthermore, Rei’s speed wasn’t the only thing that surpassed Zeros.

「Guoh!」

The moment the Death Scythe and halberd collided, Zeros was only able to hold out for a split second.

The instant after the weapons clashed, the halberd was knocked back heavily.

The fact that Zeros hadn’t done that deliberately in an attempt to parry the Death Scythe……was obvious from looking at Zeros’s expression after his weapon was knocked back.

Zeros wore an expression of disbelief, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Even so, his expression quickly shifted from shock to joy the next moment, likely due to his nature as a battle maniac, and above all, because he realised that the vague rumours circulating about Rei were by no means exaggerated, but all truth.

「Heavy, strong, fast! You’re incredible!」

Shouting praise at Rei, Zeros pulled his halberd, that had been knocked away, back to his hands.

The Death Scythe’s weight was far heavier than it appeared, at around 100kg.

Rei swung a weapon of that weight wildly, utilising the Death Scythe’s special ability that rendered it weightless to its wielder.

Rather, the fact that Zeros only had his weapon knocked back rather than losing his grip on it entirely after clashing with the Death Scythe, swung with Rei’s inhuman strength, only showed that he possessed the ability worthy of a B rank adventurer.

His fierce face was filled with an innocent smile.

Receiving those words of praise, Rei also pulled the Death Scythe back as he spoke with admiration.

「To think you wouldn’t let go of your weapon after clashing with the Death Scythe. You’re pretty good.」

Though they were praising each other, it became clearer than ever after that single exchange as to who had the advantage.

Rei surpassed Zeros in both speed and power.

Seeing that, Keep, who was not pleased, shouted with all his might.

「Zeros, fight properly! Why do you think I hired you!」

Hearing Keep’s voice, Zeros’s expression shifted from joy to a frown.

Naturally, Zeros harboured no loyalty or sense of obligation toward Keep whatsoever.

The main reason he had been hired this time was not because he was devoted to Keep, but purely because he could fight against someone like Rei.

It was precisely because he wanted to personally experience the strength of Rei, who held the title Crimson and that he had heard vague rumours about for a long time, he had allowed himself to be hired by an unpleasant guy like Keep.

And yet, after having his frustration build up from listening to Keep’s nonsense, just as he was finally releasing it by fighting Rei, having such tasteless commentary thrown at him was something a person like Zeros could never tolerate.

「Shut your mouth, you bastard! You don’t even intend to fight yourself, so don’t butt into someone else’s fight!」

「Hic! ……Y-You bastard! Who do you think you’re talking to!」

Keep showed a look of fear for a split second at the bellowing shout from Zeros, but he immediately shouted back as if to pretend it hadn’t happened.

Compounded by the commotion before the duel began, the looks directed at Keep by the residents of Gilm……no, even the surrounding nobles, including those of the Royalist Faction, were a mixture of exasperation, mockery, disappointment, and anger.

Since Keep firmly believed that he was someone who should be revered by others, he could not bear being on the receiving end of such looks.

Just as he was about to shout something at those around him again……

「Keep-sama, enough! If you interfere with the duel any further, I shall consider it a forfeiture on your part!」

When told that by Daska, he couldn’t afford to shout any further.

If he lost this duel……and half of the Earl Eliel family’s property was transferred as specified in the contract, it wasn’t hard to imagine what would happen to him.

He had prepared a trump card just in case, but using it was undoubtedly dangerous as well.

The best outcome was for Zeros to defeat Rei.

If that happened, everything would work out, or so Keep believed, meaning he couldn’t afford to have it treated as a forfeiture here.

Making no attempt to hide his dissatisfied expression, Keep fell silent with great reluctance, directing a gaze filled with hatred toward Rei and Zeros.

……Though whether it was Rei or Zeros, they paid no mind whatsoever to Keep’s gaze, facing each other with their weapons in hand.

「Now then, our fight was interrupted by some foolish noise, but shall we continue?」

「……Why on earth did you accept a stupid request like this? If you just wanted to fight me, you could have visited normally and asked for a mock battle or something.」

Unable to understand Zeros’s reasoning, Rei asked as he readied the Death Scythe.

Hearing those words, Zeros readied his halberd in the same way as Rei, replying as he searched for any opening to attack.

「What I want isn’t a mock battle. It’s a serious fight where I could even lose my life. I thought this was the best way to do that.」

Zeros barely managed to hold back the desire to attack the blatant opening Rei displayed.

He could understand that if he attacked through that supposed opening, he would undoubtedly get counterattacked and suffer a fatal blow.

……Even so, seeing such a blatant opening on Rei, who otherwise had no openings and seemed capable of easily dealing with any attack, holding back the urge to strike required immense patience.

「Even if it wasn’t a duel, if someone asked me for a serious fight, I wouldn’t have minded accepting it, you know!」

Along with those words, Rei rushed forward all at once.

Closing the distance to Zeros in a straight line, he twisted his wrist and thrust the shaft of the Death Scythe forward like a spear.

His movement speed combined with the speed of his thrust, and by the time Zeros realized it, the shaft was already right on the verge of hitting his body.

It was a blow from Rei aimed at the torso rather than the head to avoid inflicting a fatal injury on Zeros, but that conversely made it the hardest part of the body to dodge.

It was already too late to pull the halberd back to parry it, and all Zeros could do was twist his torso to somehow dodge the thrust.

A screeching metallic sound echoed through the surroundings.

It was the sound of metal friction between the armor covering Zeros’s torso and the Death Scythe’s shaft.

「Gubuoh!」

Although he succeeded in dodging the attack itself without taking major damage, considering the Death Scythe’s weight, unless Rei’s attack was completely evaded, it would still inflict damage to a greater or lesser degree.

Even now, the shaft of the Death Scythe had merely grazed his metal armor, yet due to its weight, Zeros was blown back heavily.

「Guh, that hurts! Seriously, you’ve got to be joking. Is this guy really the same B rank as me!? Are titled adventurers all like this!?」

While being blown away, Zeros muttered as he regained his stance before landing on the ground.

Reaching his hand to his left flank where the shaft had struck, he could tell the metal armor was deeply dented.

Thinking about what would have happened if that hit him directly, Zeros didn’t feel fear, but joy.

Zeros had never thought he was the strongest by any means, but even so, to think such a powerful opponent existed, someone who could be described as a monster.

And that he was currently standing before such a monster.

「Ha……Hahaha, hahahahaha!」

Zeros’s laughter echoed around the area.

At that laughter, several among the audience felt an eerie sensation.

However, Rei, to whom that laughter was directed, stared at Zeros without looking unsettled in the slightest.

This was because he had heard a similar laugh emitting an even more intense aura than this.

Compared to Noiz, an aura of this level was as refreshing as a gentle breeze.

Basking in that laughter, Rei turned his gaze toward the surroundings.

As he glanced around, noticing Baslero looking at him with anxiety, he decided to bring this duel to an end as he spoke.

「Now then, it seems you’re satisfied too, so I’ll be ending this duel soon, okay?」

「Hah, not yet! I’m not satisfied yet!」

The impact strong enough to dent metal armor left a dull pain in Zeros’s flank.

Even so, Zeros shouted with high spirits that he was not yet satisfied with the fight.

Seeing Zeros like that, Rei hoisted the Death Scythe onto his shoulder.

「Ah?」

What are you doing? Zeros appeared to voice his confusion.

That was only natural. Even though he had just said they were going to keep fighting, Rei had lifted the Death Scythe onto his shoulder instead of readying it.

Of course, even in that state, he could probably still attack. Someone with overwhelming ability like Rei would be capable of unleashing a swift blow with plenty of power even from a position on his shoulder.

However……even so, something appeared strange in Zeros’s eyes.

It was the same for those in the audience who possessed skill above a certain level.

Adventurers, knights, soldiers, mercenaries……people like that felt a sense of confusion at the stance taken by Rei, who had just announced he was ending the fight.

「Do it! He’s letting his guard down just because he has the upper hand! Strike through that opening!」

In the midst of that, Keep’s voice echoed around, but almost no one cared for his words.

And then……Rei spoke as he removed the ring worn on his finger once more.

「Keep your eyes open and don’t let your guard down for a second. If you don’t do that……you’ll lose consciousness in an instant.」

What?

The moment Zeros was about to reply to Rei’s words, it happened.

A roaring sound echoed out.

It wasn’t that an actual sound was made. However, Zeros……and the surrounding audience felt as though they had definitely heard such a sound.

And before anyone had realised it, Rei was enveloped in something red.

Several people present who possessed the ability to sense magic power lost their footing and fell backwards onto the ground.

This was because they understood that what covered Rei’s body was magic power compressed to the point it was visible.

「W-What is this……what did you do!?」

Zeros shouted at the pressure emanating from Rei standing before him.

The fact that he didn’t fall down was perhaps natural for a B rank adventurer, but even so, he was completely overwhelmed.

(Heh……standing before Rei-san when he uses the Flame Emperor’s Crimson Armour, he still has enough composure to move his mouth, huh.)

Johanna stared at Zeros with a look of surprise.

During the Bestir Empire’s civil war, they had been forced to stand before Rei in that state more than enough times.

Though back then, it hadn’t evolved into the Flame Emperor’s Crimson Armour yet, still being Overlord’s Armour.

Precisely because she had that experience, Johanna still had enough composure to think even when seeing Rei activate the Flame Emperor’s Crimson Armour.

……Though only Rent, standing nearby, knew that she had been staring at Set the entire time since the duel started, only turning her gaze toward Rei when he activated the Flame Emperor’s Crimson Armour.

「That……what on earth is that……」

Rent, who had been touring the festival with Johanna, muttered as he tried to step back, only to bump into other spectators behind him and stop.

Rent had only worked alongside Rei a short while ago, and for a brief period at that.

Contacting Rei regarding the Gamelion hunt was his first time speaking with him, and while he had heard vague rumours about Rei, he had never seen his true strength so clearly until now.

No, he had seen Rei cut Gamelions, known for their high resistance to slashing attacks, in half with a single blow during the Gamelion hunt, but what was unfolding before his eyes now was a scene so overwhelmingly dominant that comparing it then was foolish.

「It’s a skill even more powerful than the Overlord’s Armour, so showing it to him out of nowhere……it’s no wonder he ended up like that.」

Johanna muttered as though she had composure, but even for her, it was only because she had seen the Flame Emperor’s Crimson Armour a few times……and above all, because she had seen the Overlord’s Armour time and time again that she was able to hold out.

If she had just seen the Flame Emperor’s Crimson Armour with her own eyes for the first time, she wouldn’t have had the confidence not to fall backwards as well.

Among the spectators watching in the surroundings, almost none of them spoke a word in the face of the pressure emanating from Rei.

In the midst of that, Daska, standing near Rei as the referee for the duel, still maintained a bit of composure after Rei used the Flame Emperor’s Crimson Armour.

Partly because he trusted Rei, and partly because he believed Rei wouldn’t use a skill that would go out of control and cause damage to the surroundings.

While continuing to watch Rei and Zeros’s movements without missing anything, he suddenly caught a foul odor, and turning his gaze toward the source, he saw Keep, having lost his footing and even wet the ground by soiling himself.

(He seems to have finally understood what kind of opponent he picked a fight with……)

Leaving aside Daska, who was pitying Keep, before anyone realized it, Rei’s figure had vanished from his previous position as he stood right behind Zeros.

The sight of the Death Scythe thrust right at Zeros’s neck was something even Daska could not comprehend in the slightest.

Movement at a speed too fast for the eye to track, only usable when the Flame Emperor’s Crimson Armour was activated.

That was what Rei had done, but the number of people who saw him actually move were practically non-existent.

At most, an A rank adventurer might have barely been able to follow that movement with their eyes.

「Now then, what will you do?」

At Rei’s words, Zeros looked at the Death Scythe’s massive blade thrust at his neck and let out a small sigh as he spoke.

「I surrender.」

The moment the words acknowledging defeat came from Zeros’s mouth, Daska snapped back to his senses and shouted.

「Match over! Victory in this duel goes to the Baron Cisne family!」

[Previous Chapter] [Table of Contents] [Next Chapter]